The Champdoce Mystery...................................................................................................................................1

Emile Gaboriau........................................................................................................................................1

The traveller who wishes to go from Poitiers to London by the shortest route will find that the simplest way is

to take a seat in the stage coach which runs to Saumur; and when you book your place, the polite clerk tells

you that you must take your seat punctually at six o'clock. The next morning, therefore, the traveller has to

rise from his bed at a very early hour, and make a hurried and incomplete toilet, and on arriving, flushed and

panting, at the office, discover that there was no occasion for such extreme haste.

In the hotel from whence the coach starts every one seems to be asleep, and a waiter, whose eyes are scarcely

open, wanders languidly about. There is not the slightest good in losing your temper, or in pouring out a

string of violent remonstrances. In a small restaurant opposite a cup of hot coffee can be procured, and it is

there that the disappointed travellers congregate, to await the hour when the coach really makes a start.

At length, however, all is ready, the conductor utters a tremendous execration, the coachman cracks his whip,

the horses spring forward, the wheels rattle, and the coach is off at last. Whilst the conductor smokes his pipe

tranquilly, the passengers gaze out of the windows and admire the beautiful aspect of the surrounding

country. On each side stretch the woods and fields of Bevron. The covers are full of game, which has

increased enormously, as the owner of the property has never allowed a shot to be fired since he had the

misfortune, some twenty years ago, to kill one of his dependents whilst out shooting. On the right hand side

some distance off rise the tower and battlements of the Chateau de Mussidan. It is two years ago since the

Dowager Countess of Chevanche died, leaving all her fortune to her niece, Mademoiselle Sabine de

Mussidan. She was a kindhearted woman, rough and ready in her manner, but very popular amongst the

peasantry. Farther off, on the top of some rising ground, appears an imposing structure, of an ancient style of

architecture; this is the ancient residence of the Dukes of Champdoce. The left wing is a picturesque mass of

ruins; the roof has fallen in, and the mullions of the windows are dotted with a thick growth of clustering ivy.

Rain, storm, and sunshine have all done their work, and painted the mouldering walls with a hundred varied

tints. In 1840 the inheritor of one of the noblest names of France resided here with his only son. The name of

the present proprietor was Caesar Guillaume Duepair de Champdoce. He was looked upon both by the gentry

and peasantry of the country side as a most eccentric individual. He could be seen any day wandering about,

dressed in the most shabby manner, and wearing a coat that was frequently in urgent need of repair, a leathern

cap on his head, wooden shoes, and a stout oaken cudgel in his hand. In winter he supplemented to these an

ancient sheepskin coat. He was sixty years of age, very powerfully built, and possessing enormous strength.

The expression upon his face showed that his will was as strong as his thews and sinews. Beneath his shaggy

eyebrows twinkled a pair of lightgray eyes, which darkened when a fit of passion overtook him, and this

During his military career in the army of the Conde, he had received a sabre cut across his cheek, and the

cicatrice imparted a strange and unpleasant expression to his face. He was not a badhearted man, but

headstrong, violent, and tyrannical to a degree. The peasants saluted him with a mixture of respect and dread

as he walked to the chapel, to which he was a regular attendant on Sundays, with his son. During the Mass he

made the responses in an audible voice, and at its conclusion invariably put a fivefranc piece into the plate.

This, his subscription to the newspaper, and the sum he paid for being shaved twice each week, constituted

the whole of his outlay upon himself. He kept an excellent table, however; plump fowls, vegetables of all

kinds, and the most delicious fruit were never absent from it. Everything, however, that appeared upon his

wellplenished board was the produce of his fields, gardens, or woods. The nobility and gentry of the

neighborhood frequently invited him to their hospitable tables, for they looked upon him as the head and

chief of the nobility of the county; but he always refused their invitations, saying plainly, "No man who has

the slightest respect for himself will accept hospitalities which he is not in a position to return." It was not the

grinding clutch of poverty that drove the Duke to this exercise of severe economy, for his income from his

estates brought him in fifty thousand francs per annum; and it was reported that his investments brought him

in as much more. As a matter of course, therefore, he was looked upon as a miser, and a victim to the sordid

His past life might, in some degree, offer an explanation of this conduct. Born in 1780, the Duke de

Champdoce had joined the band of emigrants which swelled the ranks of Conde's army. An implacable

opposer of the Revolution, he resided, during the glorious days of the Empire, in London, where dire poverty

compelled him to gain a livelihood as a fencing master at the Restoration. He came back with the Bourbons

to his native land, and, by an almost miraculous chance, was put again in possession of his ancestral domains.

But in his opinion he was living in a state of utter destitution as compared to the enormous revenues enjoyed

by the deadandgone members of the Champdoce family; and what pained him more was to see rise up by

the side of the old aristocracy a new race which had attached itself to commerce and entered into business

transactions. As he gazed upon the new order of things, the man whose pride of birth and position almost

amounted to insanity, conceived the project to which he determined to devote the remainder of his life. He

imagined that he had discovered a means by which he could restore the ancient house of Champdoce to all its

former splendor and position. "I can," said he, "by living like a peasant and resorting to no unnecessary

expense, treble my capital in twenty years; and if my son and my grandson will only follow my example, the

race of Champdoce will again recover the proud position that it formerly held. Faithful to this idea, he

wedded, in 1820, although his heart was entirely untouched, a young girl of noble birth but utterly devoid of

beauty, though possessed of a magnificent dowry. Their union was an extremely unhappy one, and many

persons did not hesitate to accuse the Duke of treating with harshness and severity a young girl, who, having

brought her husband five hundred thousand francs, could not understand why she should be refused a new

dress when she urgently needed it. After twelve months of inconceivable unhappiness, she gave birth to a son

who was baptized Louis Norbert, and six months afterwards she sank into an untimely grave.

The Duke did not seem to regret his loss very deeply. The boy appeared to be of a strong and robust

constitution, and his mother's dowry would go to swell the revenues of the Champdoce family. He made his

Norbert was brought up exactly as a farmer's son would have been. Every morning he started off to work,

carrying his day's provisions in a basket slung upon his back. As he grew older, he was taught to sow and

reap, to estimate the value of a standing crop at a glance, and, last but not least, to drive a hard bargain. For a

long time the Duke debated the expediency of permitting his son to be taught to read or write; and if he did so

at last, it was owing to some severe remarks by the parish priest upon the day on which Norbert took the

All went on well and smoothly until the day when Norbert, on his sixteenth birthday, accompanied his father

At sixteen years of age, Louis Norbert de Champdoce looked fully twenty, and was as handsome a youth as

could be seen for miles round. The sun had given a bronzed tint to his features which was exceedingly

becoming. He had black hair, with a slight curl running through it, and large melancholy blue eyes, which he

inherited from his mother. Poor girl! it was the sole beauty that she had possessed. He was utterly uncultured,

and had been ruled with such a rod of iron by his father that he had never been a league from the Chateau.

His ideas were barred by the little town of Bevron, with its sixty houses, its town hall, its small chapel, and

principal river; and to him it seemed a spot full of noise and confusion. In the whole course of his life he had

never spoken to three persons who did not belong to the district. Bred up in this secluded manner, it was

almost impossible for him to understand that any one could lead a different existence to that of his own. His

only pleasure was in procuring an abundant harvest, and his sole idea of excitement was High Mass on

For more than a year the village girls had cast sly glances at him, but he was far too simple and innocent to

notice this. When Mass was over, he generally walked over the farm with his father to inspect the work of the

past week, or to set snares for the birds. His father at last determined to give him a wider experience, and one

At a very early hour in the morning they started in one of the low country carts of the district, and under the

seat were small sacks, containing over forty thousand francs in silver money. Norbert had long wished to visit

Poitiers, but had never done so, though it was but fifteen miles off. Poitiers is a quaint old town, with

dilapidated pavements and tall, gloomy houses, the architecture of which dates from the tenth century; but

Norbert thought that it must be one of the most magnificent cities in the world. It was market day when they

drove in, and he was absolutely stupefied with surprise and excitement. He had never believed there could be

so many people in one place, and hardly noticed that the cart had pulled up opposite a lawyer's office. His

The young man jumped to the ground, and assisted mechanically to remove the sacks. The servile manner of

the lawyer did not strike him, nor did he listen to the conversation between him and his father. Finally, the

business being concluded, they took their departure, and, driving to the Market Place, put up the horse and

cart at an old fashioned, dingy inn, where they took their breakfast in the public room at a table where the

wagoners were having a violent quarrel over their meal. The Duke, however, had other business to transact

than the investment of his money, for he wanted to find the whereabouts of a miller who was somewhat in his

debt. Norbert waited for him in front of the inn, and could not help feeling rather uncomfortable at finding

himself alone. All at once some one came up and touched him lightly on the shoulder. He turned round

sharply, and found himself face to face with a young man, who, seeing his look of surprise, said,

Montlouis was the son of one of the Duke's farmers, and he and Norbert had often played together in past

years. They had driven their cows to the meadows together, and had spent long days together fishing or

searching for birds' nests. The dress now worn by Montlouis had at first prevented Norbert from recognizing

him, for he was attired in the uniform of the college at which his father had placed him, being desirous of

Montlouis led his playmate into a small wine shop near at hand. He seemed a little disposed to presume upon

"If there was a billiardtable here," said he, "we could pass away the time with a game, though, to be sure, it

Norbert never had had more than a few pence in his pocket at one time, and at this remark the color rose to

"My father," added the young collegian, "gives me all I ask for. I am certain of getting one, if not two prizes

at the next examination; and when I have taken my degree, the Count de Mussidan has promised to make me

"You will, I suppose, dig and toil in the fields, as your father has done before you. You are the son of the

noblest and the richest man for miles round, and yet you are not so happy as I am."

Upon the return of the Duke de Champdoce some little time after this conversation, he did not detect any

change in his son's manner; but the words spoken by Montlouis had fallen into Norbert's brain like a subtle

poison, and a few careless sentences uttered by an inconsiderate lad had annihilated the education of sixteen

years, and a complete change had taken place in Norbert's mind, a change which was utterly unsuspected by

those around him, for his manner of bringing up had taught him to keep his own counsel.

The fixed smile on his features entirely masked the angry feelings that were working in his breast. He went

through his daily tasks, which had once been a pleasure to him, with utter disgust and loathing. His eyes had

been suddenly opened, and he now understood a host of things which he had never before even endeavored to

comprehend. He saw now that his proper position was among the nobles, whom he never saw except when

they attended Mass at the little chapel in Bevron. The Count de Mussidan, so haughty and imposing, with his

snowwhite hair; the aristocraticlooking Marquis de Laurebourg, of whom the peasants stood in the greatest

awe, were always courteous and even cordial in their salutations, while the noble dames smiled graciously

upon him. Proud and haughty as they were, they evidently looked upon his father and himself as their equals,

in spite of the coarse garments that they wore. The realization of these facts effected a great change in

Norbert. He was the equal of all these people, and yet how great a gulf separated him from them. While he

and his father tramped to Mass in heavy shoes, the others drove up in their carriages with powdered footmen

to open the doors. Why was this extraordinary difference? He knew enough of the value of crops and land to

know that his father was as wealthy as any of these gentlemen. The laborers on the farm said that his father

was a miser, and the villagers asserted that he got up at night and gazed with rapture upon the treasure that

"Norbert is an unhappy lad," they would say. "He who ought to be able to command all the pleasures of life is

He also recollected that one day, as his father was talking to the Marquis de Laurebourg, an old lady, who

was doubtless the Marchioness, had said, "Poor boy! he was so early deprived of a mother's care!" What did

that mean unless it was a reflection upon the arbitrary behavior of his father? Norbert saw that these people

always had their children with them, and the sight of this filled him with jealousy, and brought tears of

anguish to his eyes. Sometimes, as he trudged wearily behind his yoke of oxen, goad in hand, he would see

some of these young scions of the aristocracy canter by on horseback, and the friendly wave of the hand with

which they greeted him almost appeared to his jaundiced mind a premeditated insult. What could they find to

do in Paris, to which they all took wing at the first breath of winter? This was a question which he found

himself utterly unable to solve. To drink to intoxication offered no charms to him, and yet this was the only

pleasure which the villagers seemed to enjoy. Those young men must have some higher class of

entertainment, but in what could it consist? Norbert could hardly read a line without spelling every word; but

these new thoughts running through his mind caused him to study, so as to improve his education. His father

had often told him that he did not like lads who where always poring over books; and so Norbert did not

discontinue his studies, but simply avoided bringing them under his father's notice. He knew that there was a

large collection of books in one of the upstairs rooms of the Chateau. He managed to force the lock of the

door, and he found some thousands of volumes, of which at least two hundred were novels, which had been

the solace of his mother's unhappy life. With all the eagerness of a man who is at the point of starvation and

finds an unexpected store of provisions, Norbert seized upon them. At first he had great difficulty in dividing

He arrived at two conclusions from perusing this heterogeneous mass of literatureone was, that he was

most unhappy; and the other was, that he hated his father with a cold and determined loathing. Had he dared,

he would have shown this feeling openly, but the Duke de Champdoce inspired him with an unconquerable

feeling of terror. This state of affairs continued for some months, and at the end of that time the Duke felt that

he ought to make his son acquainted with his projects. One Sunday, after supper, he commenced this task.

Norbert had never seen his father so animated as he was at this moment, when all his ancestral pride blazed in

his eyes. He explained at length the acts and deeds of those heroes who had been the ornament of their house,

and enumerated the influential marriages which had been made by them in the days when their very name

was a power in the land. And what remained of all their power and rank, save their Parisian domicile, their

Norbert could hardly credit what he heard; he had never believed that his father possessed such enormous

wealth. "Why, it is inconceivable!" he muttered. And yet, as he looked round, he saw that the surroundings

were those of a peasant's cottage. How could he endure so many discomforts and wounds to his pride? In his

anger he absolutely started to his feet with the intention of reproaching his father, but his courage failed him,

Norbert knew that not one of the neighboring nobility who had the reputation of being wealthy possessed half

this annual income, and it was with a feeling of bitter anger in his heart that he listened to the broken words

which fell from his father's lips. All at once the Duke halted in front of his son's chair.

"What fortune I have now," said he in a hoarse voice, "is little or nothing in times like these, when the

tradesman contrives to make an almost unlimited income, and, setting up as a gentleman, imitates, not our

virtues, but our vices; while the nobles, not understanding the present hour, are in poverty and want. Without

money, nothing can be done. To hold his own against these mushroom fortunes, a Champdoce should possess

millions. Neither you nor I, my son, will see our coffers overflowing with millions, but our descendants will

reap the benefit of our toil. Our ancestors gained their name and glory by their determination; let us show that

As he approached the subject which had occupied his mind entirely for years, the old noble's voice quivered

"I have done my duty," said he, calming himself by a mighty effort, "and it is now your turn to do yours. You

shall marry some wealthy heiress, and you shall bring up your son as I have reared and nurtured you. You

will be able to leave him fifteen millions; and if he will only follow in our footsteps, he will be able to

bequeath to his heir a fortune that a monarch might envy. And this shall and will come to pass, because it is

"The task is heavy and painful," continued the Duke, "but it is one that several scores of illustrious houses

have accomplished. He who wishes to revive the fallen fortunes of some mighty house must live only in the

future, and have no thought but for the prosperity of his descendants. More than once I have faltered and

hesitated, but I have conquered my weakness, and now only live to make the line of Champdoce the most

wealthy in France. You have seen me haggle for an hour over a wretched louis, but it was for the reason that

at a future day one of our descendants might fling it to a beggar from the window of his magnificent

equipage. Next year I will take you to Paris and show you our house there. You will see in it the most

wonderful tapestry, pictures by the best masters, for I have ornamented and embellished it as a lover adorns a

house for a beloved mistress, and that house, Norbert, is the home that your grandchildren will dwell in."

"I have spoken to you thus," resumed he, after a short pause, "because you are now of an age to listen to the

truth, and because I wished you to understand the rules by which you are to regulate your life. You have now

arrived at years of discretion, and must do of your own free will what you have up to this time done at my

bidding. This is all that I have to say. Tomorrow you will take twentyfive sacks of wheat to the miller at

Like all tyrannical despots, the Duke never contemplated for a moment the possibility of any one disobeying

his commands; yet at this very moment Norbert was registering a solemn mental oath that he would never

carry out his father's wishes. His anger, which his fears had so long restrained, now burst all bounds, and it

was in the broad chestnut tree avenue, behind the Chateau, far from any listening ear, that he gave way to his

despair. So long as he had only looked upon his father as a mere miser, he had permitted himself to indulge in

hope; but now he understood him better, and saw that lifelong plans, such as the Duke had framed, were not

He had made up his mind that for the present he would yield to his despotism, but afterwards, in the future,

It is an easy thing to find persons to give you bad advice, and the very next day Norbert found one at Bevron

Daumon was not a native of this part of the country, and no one knew from whence he came. He said that he

had been an attorney's clerk, and had certainly resided for a long time in Paris. He was a little man of fifty

years of age, clean shaved, and with a sharp and cunning expression of countenance. His long nose, sharp,

restless eyes, and thin lips, attracted attention at first sight. His whole aspect aroused a feeling of distrust. He

had come to Bevron, some fifteen years before, with all his provisions in a cotton handkerchief slung over his

shoulder. He was willing to make money in any way, and he prospered and rose. He owned fields, vineyards,

and a cottage, which is at the juncture of the highway to Poitiers and the cross road that leads to Bevron. His

aim and object were to be seen everywhere, to know everybody, and to have a finger in every pie in the

neighborhood around. If any of the farmers or the laborers wanted small advances, they went to him, and he

granted them loans at exorbitant rates of interest. He gave most disputants counsel, and had every point of

law at his fingers' ends. He could teach people how to sail as close to the wind as possible, and yet to be

beyond the reach of the law. He affected to be only too anxious to ameliorate the lot of the peasant class, and

yet he was drawing heavy sums from them by way of interest. He endeavored by every means in his power to

rouse their feelings of animosity against both the priesthood and the gentry. His artful way of talking, and the

long black coat which he wore, had given him the nickname of the "Counsellor" in the district. The reason

why he disliked the Duke was because the latter had more than once shown himself hostile to him, and had

taken him before the court of justice, from which Daumon only escaped by means of bribery of suborned

witnesses. He vowed that he would be revenged for this, and for five years had been watching his

opportunity, and this was the man whom Norbert met when he went to deliver his corn to the miller. As he

was coming back with his empty wagon, Daumon asked for a lift back as far as the cross road that led to his

"I trust, sir," said he with the most servile courtesy, "that you will excuse the liberty I take, but I am so utterly

Daumon had read somewhere that the eldest son of a Duke was entitled to be styled /Marquis/, and it was the

first time that Norbert had been thus addressed. Before this he would have laughed at the appellation, but now

his wounded vanity, and his exasperation at the unhappy condition in which he found himself, tempted him to

"All right, I can give you a lift," said he, and the Counsellor clambered into the cart.

All the time that he was showering thanks upon Norbert for his courtesy he was watching the young man's

"Evidently," thought the Counsellor to himself, "something unusual has taken place at the Chateau de

Long since he had decided that through the son he could strike the father. But he must be cautious.

"The Duke," resumed Daumon, "is most fortunate in having such a son as you. I know more than one father

who says to his children, 'See what an excellent example the young Marquis de Champdoce sets to you all.

He is not afraid of hard work, though he is noble by birth, and should not soil his hands by labor.' "

A sudden lurch brought the Counsellor's eloquence to a sudden close, but he speedily resumed again.

"I was watching you as you hefted the sacks. Heavens! what muscles! what a pair of shoulders!"

At any other moment Norbert would have gloried in such laudation, but now he felt displeased and annoyed,

"When people say that you are as innocent as a girl," continued Daumon, "I always say that you are a sensible

young fellow after all, and that if you choose to lead a regular life, it is far better than wasting your future

"Aha," murmured he to himself; "I have the game in my own hands. I will teach his Grace to interfere with

"Yes, yes," put in the wily Counsellor, "as the head grows bald, and the blood begins to stagnate, they

forget,they forget the days when all was so different. They forget the time when they were young, and

when they sowed their wild oats with so lavish a hand. When your father was twentyfive, he was precious

"I cannot thank you enough, Marquis," said the Counsellor as he alighted with difficulty; "but if you would

Norbert hesitated for an instant: his reasoning powers urged him to decline the offer, but he refused to listen

to them, and, fastening his horses to a tree, he followed Daumon down the byroad. The cottage was an

excellent one, and extremely well furnished. A woman, who acted as Daumon's housekeeper, served the

refreshments. The officefor he called his room an office, just as if he was a professional manwas a

strangelooking place. On one side was a desk covered with account books, and against the wall were sacks

of seed. A number of books on legal matters crowded the shelves, and from the ceiling hung a quantity of

dried herbs. The Counsellor welcomed the heir to the dukedom of Champdoce with the greatest deference,

seated him in his own capacious leathern armchair, and pressed the brandy which he had refused upon him.

"I got this brandy from a man down Arcachon way in return for a kindness that I did him; for, without

boasting, I may say that I have done kindnesses for many people in my time." He raised his glass to his lips as

he spoke. "It is good, is it not?" said he. "You can't get stuff with an aroma like that hereabouts."

The extreme deference of the man, coupled with the excellence of the spirit, opened Norbert's heart in a very

short space of time. Up to the present the conduct of poor Norbert had been blameless, but now, without

knowing anything of the Counsellor's character or reputation, he poured out all the secret sorrows of his

heart, while Daumon chuckled secretly, preserving all the time the imperturbable face of a physician called in

"Dear me! dear me!" said he; "this is really too bad. Poor fellow! I really pity you. Were it not for the deep

respect that I have for the Duke, your father, I should feel inclined to say that he was not quite in his right

"Yes," continued Norbert, the tears starting to his eyes, "this is just how I am situated. My destiny has been

marked out for me, and I am helpless to alter it. I had better a thousand times be lying under the cold

"Not at all, Marquis, you have suffered too deeply; but forgive me if I say that you are foolish to despond so

"Future!" repeated Norbert angrily, "what is the use of speaking to me of the future, when I may be kept in

this horrible servitude for the next thirty years? My father is still hale and hearty."

"What of that? You will be of age soon, and then you will have full right to claim your mother's fortune."

The extreme surprise displayed by Norbert at this intelligence convinced the Counsellor that he was much

"A man," continued he, "can, when he attains his majority, dispose of his inheritance as he thinks fit, and

"You need not make the application personally; your solicitor would manage all that for you; but, of course,

"But I cannot wait until then," said Norbert; "I must at once free myself from this tyranny."

"Yes, and I will show you what is done every day. Nothing is more common in noble families. Would you

"That is your last resource, Marquis. First, then, we could lay a plaint before the court."

"Certainly. Do you suppose that our laws do not provide for such a case as a father exceeding the proper

bounds of parental authority? Tell me, has the Duke, your father, ever struck you?"

"Well, that is almost a pity. We will say that your father's property is worth two millions, and yet you derive

so slight a benefit from this that you are known everywhere as the 'Young Savage of Champdoce'!"

"Your father has many enemies, Marquis," he resumed, "for his manners are overbearing and exacting; but

you have many friends, and among them all you will find none more devoted than myself, humble though my

position may be. Many ladies of high rank take a great interest in you. Only a day or two ago some persons

were speaking of you in the presence of Mademoiselle de Laurebourg, and she blushed crimson at your name.

"Ah, I understand," replied Daumon. "And when you have broken the fetters that now bind you, we shall see

But at this moment Norbert's eyes caught a glimpse of the old fashioned cuckoo clock that hung on the wall

But, never heeding the sarcastic question of the Counsellor, Norbert had regained his cart, and was driving

Daumon had in no way exaggerated when he said that Norbert was spoken of as the "Young Savage of

Champdoce," though no one used this appellation in an insulting form. Public opinion had changed

considerably regarding the Duke of Champdoce. The first time that he had made his appearance, wearing

wooden shoes and a leathern jacket, every one had laughed, but this did not affect him at all, and in the end

people began to term his dogged obstinacy indomitable perseverance. The gleam that shone from his hoarded

millions imparted a brilliant lustre to his shabby garments. Why should they waste their pity upon a man who

would eventually come into a gigantic fortune, and have the means of gratifying all his desires?

Mothers, with daughters especially, took a great interest in the young man, for to get a girl married to the

"Young Savage of Champdoce" would be a feat to be proud of; but unluckily his father watched him with all

the vigilance of a Spanish duenna. But there was a young girl who had long since secretly formed a design of

her own, and this bold hearted beauty was Diana de Laurebourg. It was with perfect justice that she had

received the name of the "Belle of Poitiers." She was tall and very fair, with a dazzling complexion and

masses of lustrous hair; but her eyes gleamed with a suppressed fire, which plainly showed the constitution of

her nature. She had been brought up in a convent, and her parents, who had wished her to take the veil, had

only been induced to remove her owing to her obstinate refusal to pronounce the vows, coupled with the

earnest entreaties of the lady superior, who was kept in a constant state of ferment owing to the mutinous

conduct of her pupil. Her father was wealthy, but all the property went over to her brother, ten years older

than herself; and so Diana was portionless, with the exception of a paltry sum of forty thousand francs.

"My child!" said her father to her the first day of her return, "you have come back to us once more, and now

all you have to do is to fascinate some gentleman who is your equal in position and who has plenty of money.

"Time enough to talk about that some years hence," answered the girl with a smile; "at present I am quite

M. de Laurebourg had commented with some severity upon the conduct of the Duke de Champdoce towards

his son, but he was perfectly willing to sacrifice his daughter's heart for a suitable marriage.

She had heard a friend of her father's speaking of Norbert and his colossal expectations.

"Why should I not marry him?" she asked of her own heart; and, with the utmost skill, she applied herself to

the execution of her design; for the idea of being a duchess, with an income of two hundred thousand francs,

was a most fascinating one. But how was she to meet Norbert? And how bring over the moneyraking Duke

to her side? Before, however, she could decide on any plan, she felt that she must see Norbert. He was

pointed out to her one day at Mass, and she was struck by his beauty and by an ease of manner which even

his shabby dress could not conceal. By the quick perception which many women possess, she dived into

Norbert's inmost soul; she felt that he had suffered, and her sympathy for him brought with it the dawn of

love, and by the time she had left the chapel she had registered a solemn vow that she would one day be

Norbert's wife. But she did not acquaint her parents with this determination on her part, preferring to carry

out her plans without any aid or advice. Mademoiselle Diana was shrewd and practical, and not likely to err

from want of judgment. The frank and open expression of her features concealed a mind of superior calibre,

and one which well knew how to weigh the advantages of social rank and position. She affected a sudden

sympathy with the poor, and visited them constantly, and might be frequently met in the lanes carrying soup

and other comforts to them. Her father declared, with a laugh, that she ought to have been a Sister of Charity,

and did not notice the fact that all Diana's pensioners resided in the vicinity of Champdoce. But it was in vain

that she wandered about, continually changing the hour of her visits. The "Savage of Champdoce" was not to

be seen, nor was he even a regular attendant at Mass. At last a mere trifle changed the whole current of the

young man's existence; for, a week after the conversation in which the Duke had laid bare his scheme to his

son, he again referred to it, after their dinner, which they had partaken of at the same table with forty laborers,

"You need not, my son," began the old gentleman, "go back with the laborers today."

"Allow me to continue, if you please. My confidential conversation with you the other night was merely a

preliminary to my telling you that for the future I did not expect you to toil as hard as you had hitherto done,

for I wish you to perform a duty less laborious, but more responsible; you will for the future act as

"For I wish you to become accustomed to independent action, so that at my death your sudden liberty may

The Duke then rose from his seat, and took a highly finished gun from a cupboard.

"I have been very much pleased with you for some time past," said he, "and this is a sign of my satisfaction.

The gamekeeper has brought in a thoroughly trained dog, which will also be yours. Shoot as much as you

like, and, as you cannot go about without money in your pocket, take this, but be careful of it; for remember

that extravagance on your part will procrastinate the day upon which our descendants will resume their

The Duke spoke for some time longer, but his son paid no heed to his words, and was too much astonished to

"I suppose," said the Duke at last in angry accents, "that you will have the grace to thank me."

"You will find that I am not ungrateful," stammered Norbert, aroused by this reproach.

It was owing to the advice of the priest of Bevron that the Duke had acted as he had done; but this indulgence

came too late, for Norbert's detestation of his tyrant was too deeply buried in his heart to be easily eradicated.

A gun was not such a wonderful present after alla matter of a few francs, perhaps. Had the Duke offered

him the means of a better education, it would be a different matter; but as it was, he would still remain the

However, Norbert took advantage of the permission accorded to him, and rambled daily over the estate with

his gun and his dog Bruno, to which he had become very much attached. His thoughts often wandered to

Daumon; but he had made inquiries, and had heard that the Counsellor was a most dangerous man, who

would stick at nothing; but for all that, he had made up his mind to go back to him again for further advice,

though his better nature warned him of the precipice on the brink of which he was standing.

Daumon was expecting a visit from the young man, and had been waiting for him with the cool complacency

of a birdcatcher, who, having arranged all his lines and snares, stands with folded arms until his feathered

victims fall into his net. The line that he had displayed before the young man's eyes was the sight of liberty.

Daumon had emissaries everywhere, and knew perfectly well what was going on at the Chateau de

Champdoce, and could have repeated the exact words made use of by the Duke in his last conversation with

his son, and was aware of the leave of liberty that had been granted to Norbert, and was as certain as possible

that this small concession would only hasten the rebellion of the young Marquis.

He often took his evening stroll in the direction of Champdoce, and, pipe in mouth, would meditate over his

schemes. Pausing on the brow of a hill that overlooked the Chateau, he would shake his fist, and mutter,

And he was in the right, for, after a week spent in indecision, Norbert knocked at the door of his father's

bitterest enemy. Daumon, concealed behind the window curtain, had watched his approach, and it was with

the same air of deference that he had welcomed the Marquis, as he took care to call him; but he affected to be

And Norbert, who had expected a very warm greeting, was much disconcerted. For a moment he thought of

going away again, but his pride would not permit him to do so, for he had said to himself that it would be an

"I want to have a bit of advice from you, Counsellor," said he; "for as I have but little experience in a certain

"But surely," said the young man, "you must feel that you are bound to assist me after all you told me a day

or two back. You mentioned two means by which I could regain my freedom, and hinted that there was a

Never did any man more successfully assume an air of astonishment than did Daumon at this moment.

"What," said he, "do you absolutely remember those idle words I made use of then?"

"Oh, Marquis! you must remember that we say many things that really have no special meaning, for between

act and intention there is a tremendous difference. I often speak too freely, and that has more than once got

Norbert was no fool, in spite of his want of education, and the hot blood of his ancestors coursed freely

"And imagined that you could trifle with me. You managed to learn my real feelings for your own

"You will be angry when you hear what I have to say, but I cannot help speaking the truth."

"I am but a very poor and humble man. What have I to gain by securing any note, and by encouraging you to

brave your father's anger? Just think what must happen if I opposed the allpowerful Duke de Champdoce;

"Have you never studied law in the slightest degree, Marquis? Dear me, how neglectful some parents are!

You are not of age, and there is a certain article, 354 in the code, that could be so worked that a poor humble

creature like me could be locked up for perhaps five years. The law deals very hardly when any one has

dealings with a minor, the more especially when the father is a man of untold wealth. If the Duke should ever

Daumon made no reply, and his silence so plainly showed Norbert that the Counsellor did not trust him, that

"You yourself told me that when his eyes were fixed on yours you could not avoid yielding to his will."

Norbert's anger gradually died away, as he replied in accents of intense bitterness,

"I may be a savage, but I am not likely to become a traitor. If I once promised to keep a secret, no measures

or tortures would tear it from me. I may fear my father, but I am a Champdoce, and fear no other mortal man.

"No other mortal man," interrupted Norbert sternly, "will ever know from me that we have ever exchanged

An expression passed over the features of the Counsellor which cast a ray of hope upon the young man's

"Upon my word," said he, "any one would judge from my hesitation that I had some wrong motive in acting

as I am doing, but I never give bad advice, and any one will tell you the same about me, and this is the

"Nothing, Marquis, nothing; have patience; your majority is not far off, and you have only a few years to

wait. Remember that your father is an old man; let him carry out his plan for a few years longer, and"

Norbert struck his fist savagely upon the table, crying out furiously. "It was not worth my coming here if this

was all that you had to say;" and, whistling to Bruno, the young man prepared to quit the room.

"Remember, Marquis, that though I should like to see you have a better understanding with your father, yet,

at the same time, I should like to work for the happiness of you both. I am like a judge in court, who

endeavors to bring about a compromise between the litigants. Can you not, while affecting perfect

submission, live in a manner more suited to you? There are many young men of your age in a precisely

"You have more liberty now," continued Daumon. "Pray, does your father know how you employ your

"First of all, I would stay at home sufficiently often not to arouse papa's suspicions, and the rest of my leisure

I would spend in Poitiers, which is a very pleasant town. I could take nice rooms in which I could be my own

master. At Champdoce I could keep to my peasant's clothes, but in Poitiers I would be dressed by the best

tailor. I should pick up a few boon companions amongst the jolly students, and have plenty of friends, ladies

as well as gentlemen. I would dance, sing, and drink, and would dip into every kind of life, so that"

He paused for a second and then said, "There ought to be a fast horse or so in your father's stables, eh? Well

then, if there are, why not take one for your own riding? Then at night, when you are supposed to be snug

between the sheets, creep down to the stable, clap a bridle on the horse, and, hey, presto! you are in Poitiers.

Put on the clothes suitable to the handsome young noble you are, and have a joyous carouse with your many

companions; and if you do, next day, not choose to go back until the morning, the servants will only tell your

Norbert was a thoroughly strong, honest youth, and the idea of meanness and duplicity were most repugnant

to his feelings in general; and yet he listened eagerly to this proposition, for oppression had utterly changed

his nature. The career of dissipation and pleasure proposed so adroitly by Daumon dazzled his imagination

"Well," asked the Counsellor invidiously, "and, pray, what is there to prevent you doing all this?"

"Want of funds," returned Norbert, with a deep sigh; "I should want a great deal, and I have hardly any; if I

"Have you no friends who would find you such a sum as you would require until you came of age?"

"None at all;" and, overwhelmed with the sense of his utter helplessness, Norbert sank back upon a chair.

"No, Marquis, I cannot see you so miserably unhappy without doing my best to help you. A man is a fool

who puts out his hand to interfere between father and son, but I will find money to lend you what you want."

"Unluckily I cannot, I am only a poor fellow, but some of the neighboring farmers intrust me with their

savings for investment. Why should I not use them to make you comfortable and happy?"

"Yes, Marquis; but you understand that you will have to pay very heavy interest on account of the risk

incurred in lending money to a minor. For the law does not recognize such transactions, and I myself do not

like them. If I were in your place, I would not borrow money on these terms, but wait until some friend could

Daumon shrugged his shoulders with the air of a man who says: "Well, I suppose I must give in, but at any

rate I have done my duty." Then he began aloud, "I am perfectly aware, Marquis, that, considering the wealth

He then went on to enumerate the conditions of the loan, and at each clause he would stop and say, "Do you

Norbert understood him so well that at the end of the conversation, in exchange for the thousand francs, he

handed to the Counsellor the promissory notes for four thousand francs each, which were made payable to

two farmers, who were entirely in Daumon's clutches. The young man, in addition, pledged his solemn word

of honor that he would never disclose that the Counsellor had anything to do with the transaction.

"Remember, Marquis, prudence must be strictly observed. Come here to me only after the night has set in."

This was the last piece of advice that Daumon gave his client; and when he was again left alone, he perused

with feelings of intense gratification, the two notes that Norbert had signed. They were entirely correct and

binding, and drawn up in proper legal form. He had made up his mind to let the young man have all his

savings, amounting to some forty thousand francs, and not to press for payment until the young man come

All this, however, hinged upon Norbert's silence and discretion, for, at the first inkling of the matter, the

Duke would scatter all the edifice to the winds; but of this happening Daumon had no fear.

As Norbert walked along, followed by his dog, he could not resist putting his hands into his pockets and

fingering the tempting, crisp banknotes which lurked there, and making sure that it was a reality and not a

dream. That night seemed interminable; and the next morning, with his gun on his shoulder and his dog at his

heels, he walked briskly along the road to Poitiers. He had determined to follow Daumon's advice,to have

suitable rooms, and to make the acquaintance of some of the students. On his arrival at Poitiers, which he had

only once before visited, Norbert felt like a halffledged bird who knows not how to use its wings. He

wandered about the streets, not knowing how to commence what he wanted. Finally, after a sojourn in the

town of a very brief duration, he went to the inn where he had breakfasted with his father on his former visit,

and, after an unsatisfactory meal, returned to Champdoce, as wretched as he had been joyful and hopeful at

his early start in the morning. But later on he went to Daumon, who put him in communication with a friend

who, for a commission, took the unsophisticated lad about, hired some furnished rooms, and finally

introduced him to the best ladies in the town, while Norbert ordered clothes to the tune of five hundred

francs. He now thought himself on the high road to the full gratification of his desires; but, alas! the reality,

compared with what his imagination had pictured, appeared rank and chilling. His timidity and shyness

arrested all his progress; he required an intimate friend, and where could he hit upon one?

One evening he entered the Caf� Castille. He found a large number of students collected there, and was a

little disgusted at their turbulent gayety, and, hastily withdrawing, he spent the rest of the weary evening in

his own rooms with Bruno, who, for his part, would have much preferred the open country. He had really

only enjoyed the four evenings on which he had visited the Martre; but these limited hours of happiness did

not make up for the web of falsehood in which he had enmeshed himself, or the daily dread of detection in

The Duke had noticed his son's absence, but his suspicions were very wide of the truth. One morning he

"Do your best today, my boy," said he, "and try and bring home some game, for we shall have a guest to

"Yes," answered the Duke suppressing a smile. "Yes, actually here; M. Puymandour is coming, and the

"I will try and kill some game," answered Norbert to himself as he started on his errand.

This, however, was more easily resolved on than executed. At last he caught sight of an impudent rabbit near

a hedge; he raised his gun and fired. A shriek of anguish followed the report, and Bruno dashed into the

Diana de Laurebourg was a strange compound; under an appearance of the most artless simplicity she

concealed an iron will, and had hidden from every one of her family, and even from her most intimate

friends, her firm resolve to become the Duchess of Champdoce. All her rambles in the neighborhood had

turned out of no avail; and as the weather was now very uncertain, it seemed as if her long strolls in the

country roads and fields would soon come to an end. "The day must eventually come," murmured she, "when

this invisible prince must make his appearance." And at last the longexpected day arrived.

It was in the middle of the month of November, and the weather was exceedingly soft and balmy for the time

of year. The sky was blue, the few remaining leaves rustled on the trees, and an occasional bird whistled in

the hedgerows. Diana de Laurebourg was walking slowly along the path leading to Mussidan, when all at

once she heard a rustling of branches. She turned round sharply, and all the blood in her body seemed to rush

suddenly to her heart, for through an opening in the hedge she caught sight of the man who for the past two

months had occupied all her waking thoughts. Norbert was waiting for something with all the eagerness of a

Here was the opportunity for which she had waited so long, and with such illconcealed impatience; and yet

she could derive no advantage from it, for what would happen? Simply this: Norbert would bow to her, and

she would reply with a slight inclination of her head, and perhaps two months might pass away before she

met him again. Just as she was about to take some bold and decisive step she saw Norbert raise his gun and

point it in her direction. She endeavored to call out to him, but her voice failed her, and in another moment

the report rang out, and she felt a sharp pang, like the touch of a redhot iron upon her ankle. With a wild

shriek she threw up her arms and fell upon the pathway. She did not lose her senses, for she heard a cry in

response to her own, and the crashing of something forcing its way through the hedge. Then she felt a hot

breath upon her face, and then something cold and wet touched her cheek. She opened her eyes languidly,

At the same moment Norbert dashed through the hedge and stood before her. At once she realized the

advantage of her position and closed her eyes once more. Norbert, as he hung over the seemingly

unconscious form of this fair young creature, felt that his senses were deserting him, for he greatly feared that

he had killed Mademoiselle de Laurebourg. His first impulse was to fly precipitately, and his second to give

what aid he could to his victim. He knelt down by her, and, to his infinite relief, found that life was not

All this time Diana was returning thanks to kind Providence for the fulfillment of her wishes. After a time she

made a slight move, and Norbert uttered an exclamation of joy. Then, opening her beautiful eyes, she gazed

"It is I," faltered the distracted young man. "Norbert de Champdoce. But forgive me, and tell me if you are in

Pity came over the wounded girl. She gently drew herself away from the arm that encircled her, and said

"It is I who ought to apologize for my foolish weakness; for I am really more frightened than hurt."

Norbert felt that heaven had opened before his very eyes. "Let me go for help," exclaimed he.

"No, no; it was a mere scratch." And, raising her skirt, she displayed a foot that might have turned a steadier

And she pointed to a spot of blood upon the delicate white stocking. At the sight of this the young man's

"Do nothing of the kind," interrupted the girl; "it is a mere nothing. Look, I can move my foot with ease."

"Hush! we shall soon see what it is that has happened." And she inspected what she laughingly termed his

It was, as she had supposed, a mere nothing. One pellet had grazed the skin, another had lodged in the flesh,

"No, no." And with the point of a penknife she pulled out the little leaden shot. The young man remained

still, holding his breath, as a child does when he is putting the topmost story on a house of cards. He had

never heard so soft a voice, never gazed on so perfectly lovely a face. In the meantime Diana had torn up her

handkerchief and bandaged the wound. "Now that is over," exclaimed she, with a light laugh, as she extended

As soon as she was on her feet, she took a few steps with the prettiest limp imaginable.

"No, I am not indeed; and by this evening I shall have forgotten all about it. But confess, Marquis," she

added, with a coquettish laugh, "that this is a droll way of making an acquaintance."

Norbert started at the word Marquis, for no one but Daumon had ever addressed him thus.

"This little incident will be a lesson to me," continued she. "Mamma always has told me to keep to the

Norbert, for the first time in his life, realized that the view was a beautiful one.

"I am this way nearly every day," pursued Diana, "though I am very wicked to disobey my mother. I go to see

poor La Berven. She is dying of consumption, poor thing, and I take her a little soup and wine every now and

She spoke like a real Sister of Mercy, and, in Norbert's opinion, wings only were lacking to transform her into

"The poor woman has three children, and their father does nothing for them, for he drinks what he earns," the

Berven was one of the identical men to whom Norbert had given his promissory note for four thousand

francs, for he was one of the two men who had intrusted Daumon with their savings for investment; but the

young man was not in a condition to notice this. Diana had meantime slung her basket on her arm.

"Before I leave you today," said she, "I should so much like to ask a favor of you."

"Yes; oblige me by saying nothing of what has occurred today to any one; for should it come to my parents'

ears, they would undoubtedly deprive me of the little liberty that they now grant me."

"Mademoiselle," answered Norbert, "be sure that I will never mention the terrible accident that my

"Thank you, Marquis," answered the girl, with a halfmocking courtesy. "Another time let me advise you,

With these words she tripped away, without her tiny feet showing any signs of lameness. She had read

Norbert's heart like the pages of a book, and felt that there was every chance of her winning the game. "I am

sure of it now," said she; "I shall be the Duchess of Champdoce." How grateful she felt for that untimely

shot! And she felt sure that Norbert had understood what she meant when she had said that she went along

that path. She felt certain that the young man had not lost one word. She believed that the only opposition

would come from his father. As she looked round for a moment, she saw Norbert standing fixed and

After Diana had departed, the unhappy lad felt as if she had taken half his life with her. Was it all a dream?

He knelt down, and, after a slight search, discovered the little pellet, the cause of all the mischief; and, taking

it up carefully, returned home. To his extreme surprise, he found the main gateway wide open, and from a

Since the death of the Duchess of Champdoce the greater portion of the Chateau had been closed, but the

The diningroom was a really magnificent apartment. There were massive buffets of carved oak, black with

age, ornamented with brass mountings. The shelves groaned beneath their load of goblets and salvers of the

brightest silver, engraved with the haughty armorial bearings of the house of Champdoce.

Standing near one of the windows, Norbert saw a man, stout, robust, bald and redfaced, wearing a mustache

and slight beard. His clothes were evidently made by a firstrate tailor, but his appearance was utterly

"This is my son," said the Duke, "the Marquis de Champdoce. Marquis, let me introduce you to the Count de

This was the first time that his father had ever addressed Norbert by his title, and he was greatly surprised.

The great clock in the outer hall, which had not been going for fifteen years, now struck, and instantly a

butler appeared, bearing a massive silver soup tureen, which he placed on the table, announcing solemnly that

his Grace was served, and the little party at once seated themselves. A dinner in such a vast chamber would

have been rather dull had it not been enlivened by the amusing tales and witty anecdotes of the Count de

Puymandour, which he narrated in a jovial but rather vulgar manner, seasoned with bursts of laughter. He ate

with an excellent appetite, and praised the quality of the wine, which the Duke himself had chosen from the

cellar, which he had filled with an immense stock for the benefit of his descendants. The Duke, who was

generally so silent and morose, smiled buoyantly, and appeared to enjoy the pleasantries of his guest. Was

this only the duty of the host, or did his geniality conceal some hidden scheme? Norbert was utterly unable to

settle this question, for though not gifted with much penetration, he had studied his father's every look as a

The Count de Puymandour lived in a magnificent house, with his daughter Marie, about three miles from

Champdoce, and he was exceedingly fond of entertaining; but the gentry, who did not for a moment decline

to accept his grand dinners, did not hesitate to say that Puymandour was a thief and a rogue. Had he been

convicted of larceny, he could not have been spoken of with more disdainful contempt. But he was very

wealthy, and possessed at least five millions of francs. Of course this was an excellent reason for hating him,

but the fact was, that Puymandour was a very worthy man, and had made his money by speculation in wool

on the Spanish frontier. For a long period he had lived happy and respected in his native town of Orthez,

when all at once he was tempted by the thought of titular rank, and from that time his life was one long

misery. He took the name of one of his estates, he bought his title in Italy, and ordered his coatofarms from

a heraldic agent in Paris, and now his ambition was to be treated as a real nobleman. The mere fact of dining

with the eccentric Duke de Champdoce, who never invited any one to his table, was to him, as it were, a real

At ten o'clock he rose and declared he must leave, and the Duke escorted him the length of the avenue to the

great gates opening on the main road, and Norbert, who walked a few paces in the rear, caught now and then

Then came a few words from the Duke, of which Norbert could only catch the words, "thousands and

He paid, however, but little attention, for his mind was many miles away. Since the unlookedfor meeting

with that fair young face, he had thought of nothing else, and he mechanically shook hands with, and bade his

When the Duke was sure that M. de Puymandour could not hear his voice, he took his son by the arm, and the

"This," said he, "is a specimen of the mushroom aristocracy that has sprung up, and not a bad sample either;

for though he is puffed up by ridiculous vanity, the man is shrewd and intelligent enough, and his

descendants, who will have the advantages of a better education than their progenitors, will form a new class,

For more than an hour the Duke de Champdoce enlarged on his favorite topic; but he might as well have been

alone, for his son paid no attention to what he said, for his mind was still dwelling upon his adventures of the

morning. Again that sweet, soft laugh, and that modulated voice rang in his ears. How foolish he must have

seemed to her! and what a ridiculous figure he must have cut in her eyes! He had by no means omitted to

engrave on the tablet of his memory the fact that Diana passed daily down the little path on her errand of

bounty, and that there he had the chance of again seeing her. He fancied that he had so much to say to her; but

as he found that his bashfulness would deprive him of the power of utterance, he determined to commit his

sentiments to paper. That night he composed and destroyed some fifty letters. He did not dare to say openly,

"I love you," and yet that was exactly what he wanted to express, and he strove, but in vain, to find words

which would veil its abruptness and yet disclose the whole strength of his feelings. At last, however, one of

his efforts satisfied him. Rising early, he snatched up his gun, and whistling to Bruno, made his way to the

spot where he had the day before seen Diana stretched upon the ground. But he waited in vain, and hour after

hour passed away, as he paced up and down in an agony of suspense. Diana did not come. The young lady

had considered her plans thoroughly and kept away. The next day he might have been again disappointed but

for a lucky circumstance. Norbert was seated on the turf, awaiting with fond expectation the young girl's

approach and as Diana passed the opening to the pathway Bruno scented her, and rushed forward with a

joyous bark. She had then no option but to walk up to the spot where Norbert was seated. Both the young

people were for the moment equally embarrassed, and Norbert stood silent, holding in his hand the letter

"I have ventured to wait for you here, mademoiselle," said he in a voice which trembled with suppressed

emotion, "because I was full of anxiety to know how you have been. How did you contrive to return home

He paused, awaiting a word of encouragement, but the girl made no reply, and he continued,

"I was tempted to call and make inquiries at your father's house, but you had forbidden me to speak of the

"Yesterday," the young man went on, "I passed the whole day here. Are you angry with me for my stupidity?

I had thought that perhaps you had noticed my anxiety, and might have deigned to"

"Yesterday," returned Diana with the most ingenuous air in the world, and not appearing to perceive the

"Yes," replied he, "for the past two days your form, lying senseless and bleeding on the ground, has ever been

before my eyes, for I felt as if I were a murderer. I shall always see your pale, white face, and how, when I

"You must not talk like that, Marquis," interrupted Diana, but she spoke in such a low tone that Norbert did

"When I saw you yesterday my feelings so overpowered me that I could not put them into words; but as soon

as you had left me, it appeared as if all grew dark around me, and throwing myself on my knees, I searched

for the tiny leaden pellet that might have caused your death. I at last found it, and no treasure upon earth will

To avoid showing the gleam of joy that flashed from her eyes, Diana was compelled to turn her head on one

"Forgive me, mademoiselle," said Norbert, in despair, as he noticed this movement; "forgive me if I have

offended you. Could you but know how dreary my past life has been, you would pardon me. It seemed to me,

the very moment that I saw you, I had found a woman who would feel some slight interest in me, and that for

her sweet compassion I would devote my whole life to her. But now I see how mad and foolish I have been,

She accompanied these words with a glance sufficiently tender to restore all Norbert's courage.

"Ah, mademoiselle," said he; "do not trifle with me, for that would be too cruel."

She let her head droop on her bosom, and, falling upon his knees, he poured a stream of impassioned kisses

upon her hands. Diana felt herself swept away by this stream of passion; she gasped, and her fingers

trembled, as she found that she was trapped in the same snare that she had set for another. Her reason warned

It is quite true that great events spring from very trivial sources; and had Diana gone to visit La Besson,

Norbert might have heard something concerning Daumon that would have put him on his guard; but,

unfortunately, today Diana was bound on a visit to an old woman in another part of the parish.

Norbert looked on whilst this fair young creature busied herself in her work of charity, and then he silently

placed two louis from the money he had borrowed, on the table, and left the cottage. Diana followed him,

and, laying her finger upon her lips with the significant word "tomorrow," turned down the path that led to

her father's house. Norbert could hardly believe his senses when he found himself again alone. Yes, this

lovely girl had almost confessed her affection for him, and he was ready to pour out his life blood for her. He

tore up the letter which had cost him so much trouble to compose, for he felt that he could make no use of it.

He had now no anxieties regarding the future, and he thanked Providence for having caused him to meet

Diana de Laurebourg. It never entered his brain that this apparently frank and openhearted girl had

materially furthered the acts of Providence. At supper that night he was so gay, and in such excellent spirits,

"I would lay a wager, my boy," remarked the Duke, "that you have had a good day's sport."

His father did not pursue the subject; but as Norbert felt that he must give some color to his assertion, he

stopped the next day, and purchased some quails and a hare. He waited fully half an hour for Diana; and

when she did appear, her pale face and the dark marks under her eyes showed that anxiety had caused her to

No sooner had she parted from Norbert than she saw the risk that she was running by her imprudent conduct.

She was endangering her whole future and her reputation,all indeed that is most precious to a young girl.

For an instant the thought of confiding all to her parents entered her brain; but she rejected the idea almost as

soon as she had conceived it, for she felt that her father would believe that the parsimonious Duke de

Champdoce would never consent to such a marriage, and that her entire liberty would be taken from her, and

"I cannot stop now," she murmured, "and must be content to run all risks to effect an object in which I am

Diana and Norbert had a long conversation together on this day in a spot which had become so dear to them

both, and it was only the approach of a peasant that recalled the girl to the sense of her rash imprudence, and

she insisted on going on her ostensible errand of charity. Norbert, as before, escorted her, and even went so

far as to offer his arm, upon which she pressed when the road was steep or uneven.

These meetings took place daily, and after a few short minutes spent in conversation, the young lovers would

set off on a ramble. More than once they were met by the villagers, and a little scandal began to arise. This

was very imprudent on Diana's side; but it had been a part of her plan to permit her actions to be talked of by

the tongue of scandal. Unfortunately the end of November was approaching, and the weather growing

extremely cold. One morning, as Norbert arose from his couch, he found that a sharp icy blast was swaying

the bare branches of the trees, and that the rain was descending in torrents. On such a day as this he knew that

it was vain to expect Diana, and, with his heart full of sadness, he took up a book and sat himself down by the

Mademoiselle de Laurebourg had, however, gone out, but it was in a carriage, and she had driven to a cottage

to see a poor woman who had broken her leg, and who had nothing but the scanty earnings of her daughter

Francoise upon which to exist. As soon as Diana entered the cottage she saw that something had gone wrong.

The poor creature, with garrulous volubility, exhibited a summons which she had just received, and said that

she owed three hundred francs, and that as she could no longer pay the interest, she had been summoned, and

that her little property would be seized, and so a finishing stroke would be put to her troubles.

The poor woman went on to say that when she went to her creditor to implore a little delay, he had scoffingly

Mademoiselle de Laurebourg was disgusted at this narrative, and her eyes gleamed with anger.

She drove straight to the Counsellor's house. Daumon was engaged in writing when the housekeeper ushered

Diana into the office. He rose to his feet, and, taking off his velvet skull cap, made a profound bow,

Though Diana knew nothing of this man, she was not so unsophisticated as Norbert, and was not imposed

upon by the air of servile obsequiousness that he assumed. With a gesture of contempt, she declined the

"I have come," said she in the cold, disdainful words in which young girls of high birth address their

"You are a very kind young lady," answered the Counsellor with a sinister smile.

"The poor woman is in the most terrible distress both of mind and body. She is confined to her bed with a

"And yet you sent her a summons, and are ready to seize all she possesses in the world."

"I!" answered he in extreme astonishment; "do you really think that it is I? Ah! mademoiselle, why do you

listen to the cruel tongues of scandalmongers? To make a long story short, this poor woman bought barley,

corn, potatoes, and three sheep from a man in the neighborhood, who gave her credit to the extent of I

daresay three hundred francs. Well, in time, the man askedmost naturallyfor his money, and failing to

get it, came to me. I urged him to wait, but he would not listen to me, and vowed that if I did not do as he

wished he would go to some one else. What was I to do? He had the law on his side too. Ah!" continued he,

as though speaking to himself, "if I could only see a way of getting this poor creature out of her trouble! But

"This is all my worldly wealth," said he sadly. "But how foolish I am! For, of course, when poor Widow

Rouleau has a wealthy young lady to take an interest in her, she must have no further fear."

"I will speak to my father on the matter," answered Diana in a voice which showed that she had but little

"You will go to the Marquis de Laurebourg?" asked he. "Now, if you would take my advice, I should say, go

to some intimate friend,to the Marquis de Champdoce, for instance. I know," he went on, "that the Duke

does not make his son a very handsome allowance; but the young gentleman will find no difficulty in raising

whatever he may desire as it will not be long before he is of agewithout counting his marriage, which

"I know very little about it; only I know that if the young man wishes to marry without his father's consent,

"Yes; the law requires that a young man who marries against his father's desire should be twentyfive years

"I am not mistaken," said he, and calmly pointed out in the code the provision to which he had alluded. As

Diana read the passage to which his finger pointed, he watched her as a cat watches a mouse.

"After all, what does it matter to me?" remarked Diana, making an effort to recover herself. "I will speak

about this poor woman's case to my father;" and, with her limbs bending under her, she left the room.

As Daumon returned from accompanying her to the door, the Counsellor rubbed his hands.

He felt that he must gain some further information, and this he could not get from Norbert. It would be also as

well, he thought, to tell the sheriff to stay proceedings relative to the Widow Rouleau. By this means he

might secure another interview with Mademoiselle de Laurebourg, and perhaps win the poor girl's

As Diana rode home, she abandoned herself to the grief which the intelligence that she had just heard had

caused her, for the foresight of the framers of the law had rendered all her deeply laid plans of no avail.

"The Duke of Champdoce," murmured she to herself, "will never consent to his son's marriage with so

scantily a dowered woman as I am; but as soon as Norbert is of age he can marry me, in spite of all his

For a moment she dared to think of the possible death of the old man; but she shuddered as she remembered

how strong and healthy he was, and felt that the frail edifice of her hope had been crushed into ten thousand

atoms. For all this, however, she did not lose courage. She was not one of those women who, at the first

check, beat a retreat. She had not yet decided upon a fresh point of departure, but she had fully made up her

mind that she would gain the victory. The first thing was to see Norbert with as little delay as possible. Just

"I have seen Daumon," said she. "Do not be alarmed; all matters will be arranged shortly."

Then, without listening to the thanks and blessings which the poor woman showered upon her, she said,

"Give me a piece of paper to write on," and, standing near the casement, she wrote in pencil on a soiled scrap

"Diana would, perhaps, have been at the usual meeting place today, in spite of the weather, had she not been

compelled to visit a poor woman in a contrary direction. Upon the same business, she will have to call

"This letter must be taken at once to M. Norbert de Champdoce. Who will carry it?"

Francoise had made a smock frock for one of the farm servants at Champdoce, and the delivery of it formed a

good excuse for going up to the Chateau, and she willingly undertook the errand.

The next day, in the midst of a heavy shower of rain, Norbert made his appearance at Daumon's office,

saying, as a pretext for his visit, that he had exhausted his stock of money, and required a fresh supply. He too

was feeling very unhappy, for he feared that this father might entertain matrimonial designs for him which

Had not the inexorable old man once said, "You will marry a woman of wealth"? But in the event of this

matter being brought up, Norbert swore that he would no longer be obedient, but would resist to the last; and

he calculated on receiving assistance from Daumon. He was on the point of referring to this matter, when a

carriage drew up at the door of the cottage, and Mademoiselle de Laurebourg descended from it. Daumon at

"The sheriff will stop proceedings," said he. "I can show you his letter to that effect."

He turned away, and searched as diligently for the letter as if it had existed anywhere except in his own

"Dear me," said he at length. "I cannot find it. I must have left it in the other room. I have so much to do, that

really there are times when I forget everything. I must find it, however. Excuse me, I will be back

His sudden departure from the room had been a mere matter of calculation; for, guessing that an assignation

had been planned, he thought that he might know what took place at it by a little eavesdropping. He therefore

applied first his ear and then his eye to the keyhole, and by these means acquired all the information he

A moment of privacy with the object of his affections seemed to Norbert an inestimable boon. When Diana

had first entered, he was horrified at the terrible alteration that had taken place in the expression of her face.

He seized her hand, which she made no effort to withdraw, and gazed fixedly into her eyes.

"Tell me," murmured he in accents of love and tenderness, "what it is that has gone wrong."

Diana sighed, then a tear coursed slowly down her cheek. Norbert was in the deepest despair at these signs of

"Great heavens!" cried he. "Will you not trust me? Am not I your truest and most devoted friend?"

At first she refused to answer him, but at length she yielded to his entreaties, and confessed that the evening

before her father had informed her that a young man had sought her hand in marriage, and one who was a

Norbert listened to this avowal, trembling from head to foot, with a sudden access of jealousy.

"How could I?" retorted she. "What can a girl do in opposition to the will of all her family, when she has to

choose between the alternative that she loathes, or a lifelong seclusion in a convent?"

"Good business," muttered he. "Not so bad. Here's a little girl from a convent. She has a clever brain and a

glib tongue, and under my tuition would be a perfect wonder. If this country booby does not make an open

"And you hesitated," said Norbert reproachfully. "Remember you may escape from the walls of the convent,

"What reason can I give to my father for declining this offer?" said she. "Every one knows that I am almost

portionless, and that I am sacrificed to my brother, immolated upon the altar erected before the cruel idol of

family pride; and how dare I refuse a suitable offer when one is made for my hand?"

"Your father is very powerful," answered she in tones of the deepest resignation; "his determination is

"What do I care for my father?" cried the young man fiercely. "Am not I a Champdoce too? Woe be to any

one, father or stranger, who comes between me and the woman I love devotedly; for I do love you, Diana,

"Aha," muttered Daumon, who had lost nothing from his post of espial, "this is worth fifty thousand francs at

For a moment Diana remained clasped in her lover's embrace, and then, with a faint cry, released herself from

him. She then felt that she loved him, and his kiss and caresses sent a thrill like liquid fire through her veins.

She was half pleased and half terrified. She feared him, but she feared herself more.

"What, Diana! Would you refuse me?" asked he, after a moment's pause. "Do you refuse me, when I implore

you to be my wife, and to share my name with me? Will you not be the Duchess of Champdoce?"

Diana only replied with a glance; but if her eyes spoke plainly, that look said "Yes."

"Why, then," returned Norbert, "should we alarm ourselves with empty phantoms? Do you not trust me? My

father may certainly oppose my plans, but before long I shall escape from his tyrannical sway, for I shall be

"Ah, Norbert," returned she sadly, "you are feeding upon vain hopes. You must be twentyfive years of age

before you can marry and give the shelter of your name to the woman whom you have chosen for your wife."

"Good again, my young lady," cried he. "And so this is why she came here. There is some credit in giving a

"It is impossible," cried Norbert, violently agitated; "such an iniquitous thing cannot be."

"You are mistaken," answered Diana calmly. "Unfortunately I am telling you exactly how matters stand. The

law clearly fixes the age at twentyfive. During all this time will you remember that a broken hearted

"Why talk to me of law? When I am of age, I shall have plenty of money," broke in Norbert; "and do you

think that I will tamely submit to my father's oppression? No, I will wrest his consent from him."

During this conversation the Counsellor was carefully removing the dust from the knees of his trousers.

"I will pop in suddenly," thought he, "and catch a word or two which will do away with the necessity of all

He suited the action to the word, and appeared suddenly before the lovers. He was not at all disconcerted at

the effect his entrance produced upon them, and remarked placidly, "I could not find the sheriff's letter, but I

assure you that Widow Rouleau's matter shall be speedily and satisfactorily arranged."

Diana and Norbert exchanged glances of annoyance at finding their secret at the mercy of such a man. This

"You have a perfect right," remarked he dejectedly, "to say, 'Mind your own business;' but the fact is, that I

hate all kinds of injustice so much that I always take the side of the weakest, and so, when I come in and find

you deploring your troubles, I say to myself, 'Doubtless here are two young people made for each other.' "

"I beg your pardon," stammered Daumon. "I am but a poor peasant, and sometimes I speak out too plainly. I

Daumon looked at Diana; and as she made no reply, he went on: "'Well,' says I to myself, 'here are two young

folks that have fallen in love, and have every right to do so, and yet they are kept apart by unreasonable and

cruelminded parents. They are young and know nothing of the law, and without help they would most

certainly get into a muddle. Now, suppose I take their matter in hand, knowing the law thoroughly as I do,

He spoke on in this strain for some minutes, and did not notice that they had withdrawn a little apart, and

"That is all the better for us then; for if we promise him a handsome sum, he will not say a word of what has

Having thus gained Diana's assent, the young man turned to Daumon. "I put every faith in you, and so does

"Wait and hope," answered the Counsellor. "The slightest step taken before you are of age will be fatal to

your prospects, but the day you are twentyone I will undertake to show you several methods of bringing the

Nothing could make this speech more explicit; but he was so cheerful and confident, that when Diana left the

This was nearly their last interview that year, for the winter came on rapidly and with increased severity, so

that it was impossible for the lovers to meet out of doors, and the fear of spying eyes prevented them from

taking advantage of Daumon's hospitality. Each day, however, the widow's daughter, Francoise, carried a

letter to Laurebourg, and brought back a reply to Champdoce. The inhabitants of the various country houses

had fled to more genial climates, and only the Marquis de Laurebourg, who was an inveterate sportsman, still

lingered; but at the first heavy fall of snow he too determined to take refuge in the magnificent house that he

owned in the town of Poitiers. Norbert had foreseen this, and had taken his measures accordingly. Two or

three times in the week he mounted his horse and rode to the town. After changing his dress, he made haste to

a certain garden wall in which there was a small door. At an agreed hour this door would gently open, and as

Norbert slipped through he would find Diana ready to welcome him, looking more bewitching than ever. This

great passion, which now enthralled his whole life, and the certainty that his love was returned, had done

away with a great deal of his bashfulness and timidity. He had resumed his acquaintanceship with Montlouis,

and had often been with him to the Caf� Castille. Montlouis was only for a short time at Poitiers, for as soon

as spring began he was to join the young Count de Mussidan, who had promised to find some employment

for him. The approaching departure was not at all to Montlouis' taste, as he was madly in love with a young

girl who resided in the town. He told all to Norbert; and as confidence begets confidence, he more than once

accompanied the young Marquis to the door in the garden wall of the Count de Laurebourg's town house.

April came at last. The gentry returned to their country houses, and in time the happy day arrived when Diana

de Laurebourg was to return to her father's country mansion. The lovers had now every opportunity to meet,

and would exhort each other to have patience, and a week after Diana's return they spent a long day together

in the woods. After this delicious day, Norbert, happy and lighthearted, returned to his father's house.

"Marquis," said the Duke, plunging at once into the topic nearest his heart, "I have found a wife for you, and

The falling of a thunderbolt at his feet would have startled Norbert less than these words did. The Duke took,

or affected to take, no notice of his son's extreme agitation, and in a careless manner he continued,

"I suppose, my son, that it is hardly necessary for me to tell you the young lady's name. Mademoiselle Marie

de Puymandour cannot fail to please you. She is excessively pretty, tall, dark, and with a fine figure. You saw

"Pshaw," replied the old gentleman; "I thought that you had begun to use your eyes. And look here, Marquis,

you must adopt a different style of dress. You can go over with me to Poitiers tomorrow, and one of the

tailors there will make you some clothes suitable to your rank, for I don't suppose that you wish to alarm your

"Wait a moment, if you please. I shall have a suite of apartments reserved for you and your bride, and you

can pass your honeymoon here. Take care you do not prolong it for too lengthened a period; and when it is all

"Suppose I should beg you to save me from a marriage which will render me most unhappy?"

The Duke shrugged his shoulders. "Why this is mere childishness," said he. "The marriage is a most suitable

"What! Are you opposing my will?" asked his father angrily. "Pray, do you hesitate?"

"Very good, then. A man of no position can consult the dictates of his heart when he takes a wife, but with a

nobleman of rank and station it is certainly a different matter, for with the latter, marriage should be looked

upon as a mere business transaction. I have made excellent arrangements. Let me repeat to you the

conditions. The Count will give twothirds of his fortune, which is estimated at five millionsjust think of

that!and when we get that, we shall be able to screw and save with better heart. Think of the restoration of

our house, and the colossal fortune that our descendants will one day inherit, and realize all the beauties of a

While the Duke was uttering this string of incoherent sentences, he was pacing up and down the room, and

now he halted immediately in front of his son. "You understand," said he; "tomorrow you will go to

"I mean that as I shall never love Mademoiselle de Puymandour, she will never be my wife."

The Duke had never foreseen the chance of rebellion on the part of his son, and he could not bring his mind

"Do you imagine," answered he disdainfully, "that I shall be satisfied with an answer of this kind? I hope that

you will submit to my wishes, for I think that, as the head of the family, I have conceived a splendid plan for

its future aggrandizement; and do you think that, for the mere whim of a boy, I will be turned aside from my

"No, father," answered Norbert, "it is no boyish whim that makes me oppose your wishes. Tell me, have I not

ever been a dutiful son to you? Have I ever refused to do what I was ordered? No; I have obeyed you

implicitly. I am the son of the wealthiest man in Poitiers, and I have lived like a laborer's child. Whatever

"Anything but that; I do not love her, and I shall never do so. Do you wish my whole life to be blighted? I

A purple flush passed across the Duke's face, then it faded away, leaving every feature of a livid whiteness.

"Great heavens!" said he in a voice before which Norbert, at one time, would have quailed. "Whence comes

"How long is it that it has been right for children to disobey their parents' commands?"

This speech put the finishing stroke to the Duke's rage. He made a step across the room, towards his son,

raising the stick that he usually carried high in the air. For a moment he stood thus, and then, casting it aside,

Perhaps it was Norbert's intrepid attitude that restrained the Duke's frenzy, for he had not moved a muscle,

"No, this is an act of disobedience that I will not put up with," exclaimed the old man in a voice of thunder,

and, springing upon his son, he grasped him by the collar and dragged him up to a room on the second floor,

"You have twentyfour hours in which to reflect whether you will be willing to accept the wife that I have

The Duke made no reply, but slammed the door, which was of massive oak, and secured by a lock of

Norbert gazed round; the only other exit from the room was by means of a window some forty feet from the

ground. The young man, however, imagined that some one would surely come to make up his bed for the

night; that would give him two sheets; these he could knot together and thus secure a means of escape. He

might not be able to see Diana at once, but he could easily send her a message by Daumon, warning her of

what had taken place. Having arranged his plans, he threw himself into an armchair with a more easy mind

than he had experienced for many months past. The decisive step had been taken, and the relations between

his father and himself clearly defined, and thus he naturally considered great progress had been made, and the

And Norbert was not wrong in his opinion. When the Duke, as usual, took his place at the table, at which the

farm laborers ate their meals, not one of them had the courage to make a single observation. Every one knew

what a serious altercation had taken place between father and son, and each one was devoured by the pangs

As soon as the meal was concluded, the Duke called an old and trustworthy servant, who had been in his

"Jean," said he, "your young master is locked in the yellow room. Here is the key. Take him something to

"Wait a little. You will spend the night in his room and keep a strict watch upon him. He may design to make

his escape. If he attempts it, restrain him, if necessary, by physical force. Should he prove too strong for you,

This unexpected precaution upon the Duke's part upset all Norbert's plans of escape. He endeavored to

persuade Jean to allow him to go out for a couple of hours, giving his word of honor that he would return at

the expiration of that time. Prayers and menaces, however, had no effect. Had the young man gazed from the

window, he would have seen his father striding moodily up and down the courtyard, with the thought

gnawing at his heart that perhaps after all these many years of waiting his plans might yet be frustrated.

"There is a woman at the bottom of all this," said he to himself. "It is only woman's wiles that in this brief

space of time would effect so complete a change in a young man's disposition. Besides, he would not have so

obstinately declined to listen to the proposal I made him had not his affections been engaged elsewhere. Who

It would be absurd to question Norbert, and the Duke was excessively unwilling to institute any regular

inquiry into the matter. He passed the whole night in gloomy indecision, but towards morning an inspiration

"Bruno," he exclaimed with a mighty oath. "The dog will show me the place that his master frequents and

The brilliant idea soothed him a great deal, and at one o'clock he took his seat as usual at the head of the

table, and ordered food to be taken up to Norbert, but that none of the measures for his safe custody were to

When he thought the moment was a favorable one, he whistled to Bruno, and, though the dog rarely followed

him, yet in the absence of his master, he condescended to accompany the Duke down the avenue to the front

gates. Three roads branched off from here, but the dog did not hesitate for a moment, and took the one to the

left, like an animal who knew his destination perfectly well. Bruno went ahead for nearly half an hour, until

he reached the exact spot where Diana had met with her accident. He made a cast round, but finding nothing,

"This, then," muttered the Duke, "is the place where the lovers have been in the habit of meeting each other."

The place was a very lonely one, and, standing on the rising ground, commanded a view of the country for a

The Duke noticed this, and took up a position where the trunk of a giant oak almost concealed him from

observation. He was delighted at his sagacity, and was almost in a good humor; for now that he had reflected,

the danger did not seem by any means so great, for to whom could Norbert have lost his heart? To some little

peasant girl, perhaps, who, thinking that the lad was an easy dupe, had tried to induce him to marry her. As

"Here she is,' muttered he, as he emerged from his hiding place, and at that moment Diana de Laurebourg

made her appearance; but as soon as she saw the Duke she uttered a faint cry of alarm. She was inclined to

turn and fly, but her strength failed her, and, extending her hands, she grasped the boughs of a slender birch

tree that grew close by, to prevent herself from falling. The Duke was quite as much astonished as the young

lady. He had expected to see a peasant girl, and here was the daughter of the Marquis de Laurebourg. But

anger soon succeeded to surprise; for though he might have had nothing to fear from the peasant, the daughter

of the Marquis de Laurebourg was an utterly different antagonist. He could not rely upon aid from her family,

"Yes, when you come out to meet the son, it is annoying to meet the father; but do not blame poor Norbert,

Though Mademoiselle de Laurebourg had been startled at first, she was possessed of too strong a will to give

She never thought to screen herself by a denial of her reasons for being on the spot, for such a course she

"You are quite right," answered she. "I came here to meet your son, and therefore you will pardon me if I take

With a deep courtesy she was about to move away, when the Duke laid a restraining grip upon her arm.

"Permit me, my child," said he, endeavoring to put on a kind and paternal tone,"let me say a few words to

"My son is locked up in a room, and my servants have my orders to prevent his making his escape by force, if

"I will tell you," returned he in tones of rising anger, "how it comes that I treat my son, the heir to my rank

He looked savagely angry as he spoke, but Diana answered negligently, "Pray go on; you quite interest me."

"Well then, listen to me. I have chosen a wife for Norbert; she is as young as you arebeautiful, clever, and

"Fifteen hundred thousand francs as a marriage portion will outweigh a coat of arms, even though it should

be a tower argent on a field azure." The Duke paused as he made this allusion to the Laurebourg arms, and

then continued, "In addition to this, she has great expectations; and yet my son is mad enough to refuse the

"If you think that this marriage will cause your son's happiness, you are quite right in acting as you have

"Happiness! What has that to do with the matter, as long as it adds to the aggrandizement of our house and

name? I have made up my mind that Norbert shall marry this girl; I have sworn it, and I never break my oath.

Diana suffered acutely, but her pride supported her, whilst her confidence in Norbert was so great that she

"Norbert will become a dutiful son once more when he is removed from the malignant influence which has

"He will obey me, when I show him that though he may not value his name and position, there are others who

do so; and that many a woman would fight a brave battle for the honor of being the Duchess of Champdoce.

Young lady, my son is a mere boy; but I have known the world, and when I prove to the poor fool that it was

only grasping ambition which assumed the garb of love, he will renounce his folly and resume his allegiance

to me. I will tell him what I think of the povertystricken adventuresses of high birth, whose only weapons

are their youth and beauty, and with which they think that they can win a wealthy husband in the battle of

"Continue, sir," broke in Diana haughtily. "Insult a defenceless girl with her poverty! It is a noble act, and

"I believed," said the Duke, "that I was addressing the woman whose advice had led my son to break into

open rebellion against my authority. Am I right or wrong? You can prove me to be mistaken by urging upon

"You see," continued the Duke, "that I am correct, and that if you continue to act as you have done, I shall be

justified in retaliating in any manner that I may deem fit. You have now been warned. Carry on this intrigue

He placed such an insulting emphasis upon the word "intrigue" that Diana's anger rose to boiling point. At

that instant, for the sake of vengeance, she would have risked her honor, her ambition, her very life itself.

Forgetting all prudence, she cast aside her mask of affected indifference, and, with her eyes flashing angry

"Listen to me. I, too, have sworn an oath, and it is that Norbert shall be my husband; and I tell you that he

shall be so! Shut him up in prison, subject him to every indignity at the hands of your menials, but you will

never break his spirit, or make him go back from his plighted word. If I bid him, he will resist your will even

unto the bitter end. He and I will never yield. Believe me when I tell you, that before you attack a young girl's

honor, you had better pause; for one day she will be a member of your family. Farewell."

Before the Duke could recover his senses, Diana was far down the path on her way homewards; and then he

burst into a wild storm of menaces, oaths, and insults. He fancied that he was alone, but he was mistaken; for

the whole of that strange scene had a hidden witness, and that witness was Daumon. He had heard of the

treatment of the young Marquis from one of his servants at the Chateau, and his first thought had been to

acquaint Diana with it. Unfortunately he saw no means of doing this. He dared not go to Laurebourg, and he

would have died sooner than put pen to paper. He was in a position of the deepest embarrassment when the

idea struck him of going to the lovers' trysting place. The little cry that Diana had uttered upon perceiving the

Duke had put him upon his guard. Bruno had found him out; but, as he knew him, merely fawned upon him.

He was delighted at the fury of the Duke, whom he hated with cold and steady malignity; but the courage of

Diana filled him with admiration. Her sublime audacity won his warmest praises, and he longed for her as an

ally to aid him in his scheme of revenge. He knew that the girl would find herself in a terribly embarrassing

position, and thus she would be sure to call upon him for advice before returning home.

"Now," thought he, "if I wish to profit by her anger, I ought to strike while the iron is hot; and to do so, I

Without a moment's delay, he dashed through the woods, striving to get home without the young girl's

"Who is there?" exclaimed he, moving towards the spot from whence the rustling came. There was no reply.

Surely he had not been mistaken. Calling to Bruno, he strove to put him on the scent, but the dog showed no

signs of eagerness. He sniffed about for a time, and seemed to linger near one special spot. The Duke moved

"Some one has been eavesdropping," muttered he, much enraged at his discovery. "Who can it be? Has

The Duke breathed more freely. Norbert was still in security, and therefore could not have been the person

"Well, he declared that he would not remain in his room an instant longer; so old Jean called for help. He is

awfully strong, and it took six of us to hold him. He said that if we would let him go, he would return in two

The Duke listened with a sarcastic smile. He cared nothing about the frantic struggles of his son, for his heart

had grown cold and hard from the presence of the fixed idea which had actuated his conduct for so many

years, and it was with the solemn face of a man who was fulfilling a sacred duty that he ascended to the room

in which his son was imprisoned. Jean threw open the door, and the Duke paused for a moment on the

threshold. The furniture had been overturned, some of it broken, and there were evident signs of a furious

A powerful laborer stood near the window, and Norbert was lying on the bed, with his face turned to the wall.

His son obeyed him. Any one but the Duke would have been alarmed by the expression of the young man's

"What is the meaning of all this?" asked the old nobleman in his most severe voice. "Are not my orders

sufficient to insure obedience? I hear that absolute force has had to be used towards you during my absence.

Tell me, my son, what plans you have devised during these hours of solitude, and what hopes you still

The Duke affected not to hear the reply, uttered as it was in a tone of derision.

"It was very easy for me to discover, from your obstinacy, that some woman had endeavored to entrap you,

"This womanthis dangerous womanI have been in search of, and as you can conceive, I easily found

her. I went to the Forest of Bevron, and there I need not tell you I found Mademoiselle de Laurebourg."

"I did so, certainly. I told her my opinion of those manoeuvring women who fascinate the dupes they intend

"Can it be possible that you, simple boy even as you are, could have been deceived by the pretended love of

this wily young woman? It is not you, Marquis, that she loves, but our name and fortune; but /I/ know if /she/

does not that the law will imprison women who contrive to entrap young men who are under age."

"Did you really say that to her?" asked he, in a low, hoarse voice, utterly unlike his own. "You dare to insult

the woman I love, when you knew that I was far away and unable to protect her! Take care, or I shall forget

"He actually threatens me," said the Duke, "my son threatens me;" and, raising the heavy stick he held in his

hand, he struck Norbert a violent blow. By a fortunate movement the unhappy boy drew back, and so avoided

the full force of the stroke, but the end of the stick struck him across the temple, inflicting a long though not a

serious wound. In his blind rage Norbert was about to throw himself upon his father, when his eyes caught

sight of the open door. Liberty and safety lay before him, and, with a bound, he was on the stairs, and before

the Duke could shout for aid from the window, his son was tearing across the park with all the appearance

In order to avoid being seen by Mademoiselle de Laurebourg, Daumon had to take a much longer route to

regain his home than the one that Diana had followed. This, however, he could not help. As soon as he

arrived at his home he ran hastily upstairs and took from a cleverly concealed hidingplace in the

wainscoting of his bedroom a small bottle of dark green glass, which he hastily slipped into his pocket. When

he had once more descended to his office, he again took it out and examined it carefully to see that it had in

no way been tampered with; then, with a hard, cruel smile, he placed it upon his desk among his ledgers and

account books. Diana de Laurebourg might pay him a visit as soon as she liked, for he was quite prepared for

her, for he had slipped on his dressinggown and placed his velvet skull cap upon his head, as if he had not

He began to be uneasy. He went to the window and glanced eagerly down the road; then he drew out his

watch and examined the face of it, when all at once his ears detected a gentle tapping at the door of the office.

The door opened, and Diana entered slowly, without uttering a word, and took no notice of the servile

obsequiousness of the Counsellor; indeed, she hardly seemed to notice his presence, and with a deep sigh she

In his inmost heart Daumon was filled with the utmost delight; he now understood why Diana had taken so

long in reaching his house; it was because her interview with the Duke had almost overcome her.

She soon, however, recovered her energy, and shook off the languor that seemed to cling to her limbs, and

"Counsellor, I have come to you for advice, which I sorely need. About an hour ago"

"Yes, I know that M. Norbert is a prisoner at the Chateau. Yes, mademoiselle, I know this, and I know, too,

that you have just met the Duke de Champdoce in the Forest of Bevron. I know, moreover, all that you said to

In spite of her strong nerves, Diana was unable to restrain a movement of dismay and terror.

"A man who was out cutting wood. Ah! my dear young lady, the forest is not a safe place to tell secrets in, for

you never know whether watchful eyes and listening ears are not concealed behind every tree. This man, and

I am afraid some of his companions, heard every word that was spoken, and as soon as you left the Duke the

man scampered off to tell the story. I made him promise not to say a word, but he is a married man and is

sure to tell it to his wife. Then there are his companions; dear me! it is most annoying."

But her despair did not last long, for she was by no means the woman to throw down her arms and sue for

"The end has not come yet, surely? Speak! What is to be done? You must have some plan. I am ready for

anything, now that I have nothing to lose. No one shall ever say that that cowardly villain, the Duke de

"In the name of heaven!" cried he, "do not speak so loud. You do not know the adversary that you have to

"Yes, I do fear him; and what is more, I fear him very much. He is a determined man, and will gain his object

at any cost or risk. Do you know that he did his best to crush me because I summoned him to court on behalf

of one of my clients? So that now, when any one comes to me and wishes to proceed against the Duke, I am

"And so," returned the young girl in a tone of cold contempt, "after leading us to this compromising position,

"You can act as you please, Counsellor; Norbert is still left to me; he will protect me."

"How can we be sure that at this very moment the Marquis has not given in to all his father's wishes?"

"No," exclaimed the girl; "such a supposition is an insult to Norbert. He would sooner die than give in. He

may be timid, but he is not a coward; the thoughts of me will give him the power to resist his father's

Daumon allowed himself to fall into his great armchair as though overcome by the excitement of this

"We can talk coolly enough here and with no one to threaten us; but the Marquis, on the other hand, is

exposed to all his father's violence and ill treatment, moral as well as physical, without any defence for aid

from a soul in the world, and in such times as these the strongest will may give way."

"Yes, I see it all; Norbert may give in, he may marry another woman, and I shall be left alone, with my

There was something so terribly determined in the young girl's voice that again Daumon started, and this time

"Yes, you are right," said he, "and there are many besides myself who have vowed to have revenge on the

Duke, and their time will come, have no fear. A quiet shot in the woods in the dusk of the evening would

settle many a long account. It has been tried, but the old man seems to have the luck of the evil one; and if the

gun did not miss fire, the bullets flew wide of the mark. A judge might take a very serious view of such a

matter, and term a crime what was merely an act of justice. Who can say whether the death of the Duke de

Champdoce might not save him from the commission of many acts of tyranny and oppression and render

The face of Diana de Laurebourg turned deadly pale as she listened to these specious arguments.

"As things go," continued Daumon, "the Duke may go on living to a hundred; he is wealthy and influential,

and to a certain degree looked up to. He will die peacefully in his bed, there will be a magnificent funeral,

While he spoke the Counsellor had taken the little bottle from beside his account books and was turning it

"Yes," murmured he, thoughtfully; "the Duke is quite likely to outlive us all, unless, indeed"

He took the cork from the bottle, and poured a little of the contents into the palm of his hand. A few grains of

fine white powder, glittering like crystal, appeared on the brown skin of the Counsellor.

"And yet," he went on, in cold, sinister accents, "let him take but a small pinch of this, and no one need fear

his tyranny again in this world. No one is much afraid of a man who lies some six feet under ground, shut up

He stopped short, and fixed his keen eyes upon the agitated girl, who stood in front of him. For at least two

minutes the man and the girl stood face to face, motionless, and without exchanging a word. Through the

dead, weird silence, the pulsations of their hearts were plainly audible. It seemed as if before speaking again

each wished to fathom the depths of guilt that lay in the other's heart. It was a compact entered into by look

and not by speech; and Daumon so well understood this, that at length, when he did speak, his voice sank to a

hoarse whisper, as though he himself feared to listen to the utterance of his own thoughts.

"A man taking this feels no pain. It is like a heavy, stunning blow on the foreheadin ten seconds all is over,

no gasp, no cry, but the heart ceases to beat forever; and, best of all, it leaves no trace behind it. A little of

this, such a little, in wine or coffee, would be enough. It is tasteless, colorless, and scentless, its presence is

"By skilful analysts in Paris or the larger towns, there would be a chance; but in a place like this, never!

Never, in fact, anywhere, unless there had been previous grounds for suspicion. Otherwise only apoplectic

symptoms would be observed; and even if it was traced there comes the question, By whom was it

He stopped short, for a word rose to his lips which he did not dare utter; he raised his hands to his mouth,

"This substance is not sold by chemists; it is very rarely met with, difficult to prepare, and terribly expensive.

The smallest quantity might be met with in the firstclass laboratories for scientific purposes, but it is most

unlikely for any one in these parts to possess any of this drug, or even to know of its existence."

"That is quite another matter. Years ago, when I was far away from here, it was in my power to render a great

service to a distinguished chemist, and he made me a present of this combination of his skill. It would be

impossible to trace this bottle; I have had it ten years, and the man who gave it to me is dead. Ten years? No,

"And in all these years has not this substance lost any of its destructive powers?"

"I tried it only a month ago. I threw a pinch of it into a basin of milk and gave it to a powerful mastiff. He

"Horrible!" exclaimed Diana, covering her face with her hand, and recoiling from the tempter.

"Why do you say horrible?" asked he; "the dog had shown symptoms of /rabies/, and had he bitten me, I

might have expired in frightful torture. Was it not fair selfdefence? Sometimes, however, a man is more

dangerous than a dog. A man blights the whole of my life; I strike him down openly, and the law convicts me

and puts me to death; but I do not contemplate doing so, for I would suppress such a man secretly."

Diana placed her hands on the man's mouth and stopped a further exposition of his ideas.

"Listen to me," said she. But at this moment a heavy step was heard outside. "It is Norbert," gasped she.

"It is Norbert," cried Mademoiselle de Laurebourg, and snatching the little bottle from the Counsellor's

hands, she thrust it into her bosom. The door flew open, and Norbert appeared on the threshold. Diana and the

Counsellor both uttered a shriek of terror. His livid countenance seemed to indicate that he had passed

through some terrible scene; his gait was unsteady, his clothes torn and disordered, and his face stained with

blood, which had flowed from a cut over his temple. Daumon imagined that some outrage had taken place.

Mademoiselle Diana had feared this, and she trembled with the terror of her vague conjectures as she made a

She placed both her hands at the side of his head and stood on tip toe, the better to inspect the cut. As she

did so, she shuddered; an inch lower, and the consequences might have been fatal.

Norbert gently disengaged himself. "It is a mere nothing," said he, "and can be looked after later on.

Fortunately I did not receive the whole weight of the blow, which would otherwise have brought me

senseless to the ground, and perhaps I should have been slain by my father's hand."

"Diana, he had grossly insulted you, and he dared to tell me of it. Had he forgotten that the blood of the race

"You? Why, it is to you that he owes his life. He dared to strike me as if I had been a lackey, but the thoughts

of you stayed my hand. I turned and fled, and never again will I enter that accursed house. I renounce the

Duke de Champdoce, he is no longer my father, and I will never look upon his face again. Would that I could

forget that such a man existed; but, no, I would rather that I remembered him for the sake of revenge."

Again the heart of Daumon overflowed with joy. All his deeply malignant spirit thrilled pleasantly as he

"Marquis," said he, "perhaps you will now believe with me that in all misfortunes there is an element of luck,

for your father has committed an act of imprudence which will yet cost him dear. It is very strange that so

astute a man as the Duke de Champdoce should have allowed his passion to carry him away."

"Simply that you can be freed from the tyranny of your father whenever you like now. We now have all that

is necessary for lodging a formal plaint in court. We have sequestration of the person, threats and bodily

violence by the aid of third parties, and words and blows which have endangered life; our case is entirely

complete. A surgeon will examine your wound, and give a written deposition. We can produce plenty of

evidence, and the wound on the head will tell its own story. As a commencement we will petition that we

may not be ordered back to our father's custody, and it will further be set forth that our reason for this is that a

father has assaulted a son with undue and unnecessary violence. We shall be sure to gain the day, and"

"Enough," broke in Norbert; "will the decision give me the right to marry whom I please without my father's

Daumon hesitated. Under the circumstances, it seemed to him very likely that the court would grant Norbert

the liberty he desired; he, however, thought it advisable not to say so, and answered boldly, "No, Marquis, it

"Well, then, the Champdoce family have never exposed their differences to the public, nor will I begin to do

"No advice is necessary, my mind is entirely made up, but I need some help, and in twentyfour hours I

"You can have them, Marquis, but I warn you that you will have to pay heavily for the accommodation."

Mademoiselle de Laurebourg was about to speak, but with a gesture of his hand Norbert arrested her.

"Do you not comprehend me, Diana?" said he; "we must fly, and that at once. We can find some safe retreat

"Can you not trust your life to me?" asked Norbert reproachfully. "I swear that I will devote everything to

"Then you do not love me," said he in desponding accents. "I have been a thricebesotted fool to believe that

"I understand you too well; you are alarmed at the idea of the world's censure, and"

"Must it be so?" said she; "must I condescend to justify myself? You talk to me of the world's censure? Have

I not already defied it, and has it not sat in judgment upon me? And what have I done, after all? Every act and

word that has passed between us I can repeat to my mother without a blush rising to my cheek; but would any

one credit my words? No, not a living soul. Most likely the world has come to a decision. My reputation is

"Who would dare to treat you with anything save the most profound respect?" said he.

"Alas! my dear Norbert," replied she, "tomorrow the scandal will be even greater. While your father was

talking to me with such brutal violence and contempt, he was overheard by a woodcutter and perhaps by

Mademoiselle de Laurebourg shot one glance at the Counsellor; it was only a glance, but he comprehended at

"Pardon me," said he, "but I think I have a visitor, and I must hinder any one from coming in here."

"And so," resumed Norbert when alone, "it seems that the Duke de Champdoce did not even take the ordinary

precaution of assuring himself that you were in privacy before he spoke as he did, and was so carried away by

his fury that he never thought that in casting dishonor upon you, he was heaping infamy on me. Does he think

by these means to compel me to marry the heiress whom he has chose for me, the Mademoiselle de

"Ah!" moaned she between her sobs, "so it is Mademoiselle de Puymandour that he wants you to marry?"

"Yes, the same, or rather her enormous wealth; but may my hand wither before it clasps hers. Do you hear

"You are very cruel," said he. "What have I done to deserve this want of confidence?"

Diana made no reply, and Norbert, believing that he understood the reason why she refused to fly with him,

said, "Is it because you have no faith in me, that you will not accompany me in my flight?"

"What is it, then? Do I not offer you fortune and happiness? Tell me what it is then."

She drew herself up, and said proudly, "Up to this time, my conscience has enabled me to hold my own

against all the scandalous gossip that has been flying about, but now it says, 'Halt, Diana de Laurebourg! You

have gone far enough.' My burden is heavy, my heart is breaking, but I must draw back now. No, Norbert; I

She paused for a moment, as though unable to proceed, and then went on with more firmness, "Were I alone

and solitary in the world, I might act differently; but I have a family, whose honor I must guard as I would

"It may be so, and therefore my task is all the greater. Who ever head of virtue as something easy to

"My heart and my conscience dictate the same course to me. The result must ever be fatal, when a young girl

sets at defiance the rules and laws of society; and you would never care to look with respect on one upon

"I believe you to be a man, Norbert. Let us suppose that I fly with you, and that the next day I should hear

that my father has been killed in a duel fought on my account; what then? Believe me, that when I tell you to

fly by yourself, I give you the best advice in my power. You will forget me, I know; but what else can I hope

Norbert drew a pace back, that he might read her meaning more fully in her eyes.

A sob burst from the young girl's breast, and her strength seemed to desert her limbs.

"I," answered she, in the calm, resigned voice of a Christian virgin about to be cast to the lions that roared in

the arena, "I have my destiny. Today is the last time that we shall ever meet. I shall return to my home,

where everything will shortly be known. I shall find my father angry and menacing. He will place me in a

carriage, and the next day I shall find myself within the walls of the hated convent."

"But that life would be one long, slow agony to you. You have told me this before."

"Yes," answered she, "it would be an agony, but it would also be an expiation; and when the burden grows

And as she spoke, she drew the little bottle from its hidingplace in her bosom, and Norbert too well

understood her meaning. The young man endeavored to take it from her, but she resisted. This contest

seemed to exhaust her little strength, her beautiful eyes closed, and she sank senseless into Norbert's arms. In

an agony of despair, the young man asked himself if she was dying; and yet there was sufficient life in her to

enable her to whisper, soft and low, these words, "My only friendlet me have it back, dear Norbert." And

then, with perfect clearness, she repeated all the deadly properties of the drug, and the directions for its use

On hearing the woman whom he loved with such intense passion confess that she would sooner die than live

"The very day after such a fair prospect! Ah, Duke de Champdoce! You are a hard and pitiless man. You

have robbed me of all I held dear in the world, blackened my reputation, and tarnished my honor, and now

Norbert uttered such a cry of anger, that even Daumon in the passage was startled by it. He placed Diana

She smiled faintly, and held out her arms to him. Her magic spells were deftly woven.

"No," cried he; "the poison which you had intended to use on yourself shall become my weapon of

And with the gait of a man walking in his sleep, he left the Counsellor's office.

Hardly had the young man's footsteps died away, than Daumon entered the room. He had not lost a word or

action in the foregoing scene, and he was terribly agitated; and he could scarcely believe his eyes when he

saw Diana, whom he had supposed to be lying halfsensible in the armchair, standing at the window, gazing

after Norbert, as he walked along the road leading from the Counsellor's cottage.

When Diana had lost sight of her lover, she turned round to Daumon. Her face was pale, and her eyelids

"Tomorrow, Counsellor," said she, "tomorrow I shall be the Duchess de Champdoce."

Daumon was so overwhelmed that, accustomed as he was to startling events and underhand trickery, he could

Daumon felt a cold shiver creep over him, but summoning up all his selfpossession, he said, "I do not

She turned so contemptuous and sarcastic a look on him, that the words died away in his mouth, and he at

once saw his mistake in thinking that he could sport with the girl's feelings as a cat plays with a mouse; for it

was she who was playing with him, and she, a simple girl, had made this wily man of the world her dupe.

"Success is, of course, a certainty," answered she coldly; "but Norbert is impetuous, and impetuous people

are often awkward. But I must return home at once. Ah, me!" she added, as her selfcontrol gave way for a

moment, "will this cruel night never pass away, and give way to the gentle light of dawn? Farewell,

The Parthian dart which Mademoiselle de Laurebourg had cast behind her went true to the mark; the allusion

to Norbert's impetuosity and awkwardness rendered the Counsellor very unhappy. He sat down in his

armchair, and, resting his head on his hands, and his elbows on his desk, he strove to review the position

thoroughly. Perhaps by now all might be over. Where was Norbert, and what was he doing? he asked himself.

At the time that Daumon was reflecting, Norbert was on the road leading to Champdoce. He had entirely lost

his head, but he found that his reason was clear and distinct. Those who have been accustomed to the

treatment of maniacs know with what startling rapidity they form a chain of action, and the cloud that veiled

Norbert's brain appeared to throw out into stronger relief the murderous determination he had formed. He had

already decided how the deed was to be done. The common wine of the country was always served to the

laborers at the table, but the Duke kept a better quality for his own drinking, and the bottle containing this

was after meals placed on a shelf in a cupboard in the diningroom. It was thus within every one's reach, but

not a soul in the household would have ventured to lay a finger upon it. Norbert's thoughts fell upon this

bottle, and in his mind's eye he could see it standing in its accustomed place. He crossed the courtyard, and

the laborers, engaged in their tasks, gazed at him curiously. He passed them, and entered the diningroom,

which was untenanted. With a caution that was not to be expected from the agitation of his mind, he opened

each door successively, in order to be certain that no eyes were gazing upon him. Then, with the greatest

rapidity, he took down the bottle, drew the cork with his teeth, and dropped into the wine, not one, but two or

three pinches of the contents of the little vial. He shook the bottle gently, to facilitate the dissolution of the

powder. A few particles of the poison clung to the lip of the bottle; he wiped off these, not with a napkin, a

pile of which lay on the shelf beside him, but with his own handkerchief. He replaced the bottle in its

accustomed place, and seating himself by the fire, awaited the course of events.

At this moment the Duke de Champdoce was coming up the avenue at a rapid pace. For the first time,

perhaps, in his life, this man perceived that one of his last acts had been insensate and foolish in the extreme.

All the possibilities of the law to which Daumon had alluded struck the Duke with overwhelming force, and

he at once saw that his violent conduct had given ample grounds upon which to base a plaint, with results

which he greatly feared. If the court entertained the matter, his son would most likely be removed from his

control. He knew that such an idea would never cross Norbert's brain, but there were plenty of persons to

suggest it to him. The danger of his position occurred to him, and at the same time he felt that he must frame

his future conduct with extreme prudence. He had not given up his views regarding his son's marriage with

Mademoiselle de Puymandour. No; he would sooner have resigned life itself, but he felt that he must

renounce violence, and gain his ends by diplomacy. The first thing to be done was to get Norbert to return

home, and the father greatly doubted whether the son would do so. While thinking over these things, with a

settled gloom upon his face, one of the servants came running up to him with the news of Norbert's return.

When the Duke entered the diningroom, Norbert did not rise from his seat, and the Duke was disagreeably

"On my word," thought he, "it would appear that the young booby thinks that he owes me no kind of duty

He did not, however, allow his anger to be manifest in his features; besides, the sight of the blood, with which

"Norbert, my son," said he, "are you suffering? Why have you not had that cut attended to?"

"Why have you not washed the blood away? Is it left there as a reproach to me? There is no need for that, I

Norbert still made no answer, and the Duke became more and more embarrassed. To give himself time for

reflection, more than because he was thirsty, he took a glass, and filled it from his own special bottle.

"Come, my son," continued the Duke, "just try if you cannot find some palliation for what your old father has

done. I am ready to ask your forgiveness, and to apologize, for a man of honor is never ashamed to

He raised his glass, and raised it up to the light half mechanically. Norbert held his breath; the whole world

"It is hard, very hard," continued the Duke, "for a father thus to humiliate himself in vain before his son."

It was useless for Norbert to turn away his head; he saw the Duke place the glass to his lips. He was about to

drink, but the young man could endure it no longer, and with a bound he sprang forward, snatched the glass

from his father's hand, and hurled it from the window, shouting in a voice utterly unlike his own,

The Duke read the whole hideous truth in the face and manner of his son. His features quivered, his face grew

purple, and his eyes filled with blood. He strove to speak, but only an inarticulate rattle could be heard; he

then clasped his hands convulsively, swayed backwards and forwards, and then fell helplessly backwards,

striking his head against an oaken sideboard that stood near. Norbert tore open the door.

The account that the Duke of Champdoce had given of M. de Puymandour's mad longing for rank and title

was true, and afforded a melancholy instance of that peculiar kind of foolish vanity. He was a much happier

man in his younger days, when he was known simply as Palouzet, which was his father's name, whose only

wish for distinction was to be looked upon as an honest man. In those days he was much looked up to and

respected, as a man who had possessed brains enough to amass a very large fortune by strictly honest means.

All this vanished, however, when the unhappy idea occurred to him to affix the title of Count to the name of

From that moment, all his tribulations in life may have been said to have commenced. The nobility laughed at

his assumption of hereditary rank, while the middle classes frowned at his pretensions to be superior to them,

so that he passed the existence of a shuttlecock, continually suspended in the air, and struck at and dismissed

It may, therefore, be easily imagined how excessively anxious he was to bring about the marriage between his

daughter Marie and the son of that mighty nobleman, the Duke of Champdoce. He had offered to sacrifice

onethird of his fortune for the honor of forming this connection, and would have given up the whole of it,

could he but have seen a child in whose veins ran the united blood of Palouzet and the Champdoce seated

upon his knee. A marriage of this kind would have given him a real position; for to have a Champdoce for a

The day after he had received a favorable reply from the Duke, M. de Puymandour thought that it was time to

inform his daughter of his intentions. He never thought that she would make any opposition, and, of course,

supposed that she would be as delighted as he was at the honor that awaited her. He was seated in a

magnificently furnished room which he called his library when he arrived at this conclusion, and ringing the

bell, ordered the servant to inquire of mademoiselle's maid if her mistress could grant him an interview. He

gave this curious message, which did not appear to surprise the servant in the least, with an air of the utmost

importance. The communication between the father and daughter was always carried on upon this basis; and

scoffers wickedly asserted that M. de Puymandour had modelled it upon a book of etiquette, for the guidance

Shortly after the man had departed on his errand, a little tap came to the door.

And Mademoiselle Marie ran in and gave her father a kiss upon each cheek. He frowned slightly, and

"I thought it better to come to you, my dear father," said she, "than to give you the trouble of coming all the

"You always forget that there are certain forms and ceremonies necessary for a young lady of your position.

Marie gave a little gentle smile, for she was no stranger to her father's absurd whims; but she never thwarted

them, for she was very fond of him. She was a very charming young lady, and in the description that the

Duke had given of her to his son, he had not flattered her at all. Though she differed greatly in appearance

from Mademoiselle de Laurebourg, Marie's beauty was perfect in a style of its own. She was tall and well

proportioned, and had all that easy grace of movement, characteristic of women of Southern parentage. Her

large soft dark eyes offered a vivid contrast to her creamy complexion; her hair, in utter disregard of the

fashionable mode of dressing, was loosely knotted at the back of her head. Her nature was soft and

affectionate, capable of the deepest devotion, while she had the most equable temper that can be imagined.

"Come, my dear papa," said she; "do not scold me any more. You know that the Marchioness of Arlanges has

promised to teach me how to behave myself according to all the rules of fashionable society next winter, and

I declare to you that I will so practise them up in secret, that you will be astonished when you behold them."

"How womanlike!" muttered her father. "She only scoffs at matters of the most vital importance."

He rose from his seat, and, placing his back to the fireplace, took up an imposing position, one hand buried in

"Oblige me with your deepest attention," commenced he. "You were eighteen years of age last month, and I

have an important piece of intelligence to convey to you. I have had an offer of marriage for you."

"Before coming to a conclusion upon a matter of such importance," continued he, "it was, of course,

necessary for me to go into the question most thoroughly. I spared no means of obtaining information, and I

am quite certain that the proposed connection would be conducive to your future happiness. The suitor for

your hand is but little older than yourself; he is very handsome, very wealthy, and is a Marquis by hereditary

"He! Whom do you mean by he?" asked M. de Puymandour; and as his daughter did not reply, he repeated

"Pray, what have you to do with Croisenois? Who is he, pray? Not that dandy with a mustache, that I have

"And why should you presume that he had asked me for your hand? Did he tell you that he was going to do

"What, the daughter of a Puymandour has listened to a declaration of love unknown to her father? Ten

"Silence; have you those letters? Let me see them. Come, no delay; I will have those bits of paper, if I turn

With a sigh Marie gave the much prized missives to her father; there were four only, fastened together with a

He took one out at random, and read it aloud, with a running fire of oaths and invectives as a commentary

"Though there is nothing upon earth that I dread so much as your anger, I dare, in spite of your commands to

the contrary, to write to you once again. I have learned that you are about to quit Paris for several months. I

am twentyfour years of age. I have neither father nor mother, and am entirely my own master. I belong to an

ancient and honorable family. My fortune is a large one, and my love for you is of the most honorable and

devoted kind. My uncle, M. de Saumeuse, knows your father well; and will convey my proposals to him upon

his return from Italy, in about two or three weeks' time. Once more intreating you to forgive me,

"Very pretty indeed," said M. de Puymandour, as he replaced the letter in its envelope. "This is sufficient, and

"Indeed, on my word, you do me too much honor; and did you really think that I would listen to such

She turned her lovely face towards her father, with the great tears rolling down her cheeks for her sole reply.

This mute confession, for as such he regarded it, put the finishing touch to M. de Puymandour's exasperation.

"Pooh! you know nothing about it. Why, the first Croisenois was one of Richelieu's minions, and Louis XIII.

conferred the title for some shady piece of business which he carried out for him. Has this fine Marquis any

"Humbug! What did he mean by addressing you secretly? Only to compromise your name, and so to secure

"I suppose nothing; I am merely going upon facts. What does a man of honor do when he falls in love?"

"He goes to his solicitor, acquaints him with his intentions, and explains what his means are; the solicitor

goes to the family solicitor of the young lady, and when these men of the law have found out that all is

satisfactory, then love is permitted to make his appearance upon the scene. And now you may as well attend

to me. Forget De Croisenois as soon as you can, for I have chosen a husband for you, and, having pledged my

word of honor, I will abide by it. On Sunday the eligible suitor will be introduced to you, and on Monday we

will visit the Bishop, asking him to be good enough to perform the ceremony. On Tuesday you will show

yourself in public with him, in order to announce the betrothal. Wednesday the marriage contract will be

read. Thursday a grand dinnerparty. Friday an exhibition of the marriage presents; Saturday a day of rest;

Sunday the publication of the banns, and at the end of the following week the marriage will take place."

M. de Puymandour paid no attention to her entreaty, but added, as an afterthought:

"Perhaps you would wish to know the name of the gentleman I have selected as a husband for you. He is the

"/I/ know him, and that is quite sufficient. I have often told you that you should be a duchess, and I mean to

Marie's affection for George de Croisenois was much deeper than she had told her father, much deeper even

than she had dared to confess to herself, and she resented this disposal of her with more obstinacy than any

one knowing her gentle nature would have supposed her capable of; but M. de Puymandour was not the man

to give up for an instant the object which he had sworn to attain. He never gave his daughter an instant's

peace, he argued, insisted, and bullied until, after three days' contest, Marie gave her assent with a flood of

tears. The word had scarcely passed her lips, before her father, without even thanking her for her terrible

He was most desirous of seeing the Duke, for, on taking leave of him, the old nobleman had said, "You shall

hear from me tomorrow"; but no letter had as yet reached him from Champdoce. This delay however, had

suited M. de Puymandour's plans, for it had enabled him to wring the consent from his daughter; but now that

this had been done, he began to feel very anxious, and to fear that there might be some unforeseen hitch in the

When he reached Bevron, he saw Daumon talking earnestly with Francoise, the daughter of the Widow

Rouleau. M. de Puymandour bowed graciously, and stopped to talk with the man, for he was just now

seeking for popularity, as he was a candidate, and the elections would shortly take place; and, besides, he

never failed to talk to persons who exercised any degree of influence, and he knew that Daumon was a most

"Bad news, Count," answered he. "I hear that the Duke de Champdoce is seriously indisposed."

"It is always the way in this world," Daumon philosophically said. "In the midst of life we are in death!"

"Good morning, Counsellor," said De Puymandour; "I must try and find out something more about this."

All the servants and laborers on the Champdoce estate were gathered together in a group, talking eagerly to

each other, and as soon as M. de Puymandour appeared, one of the servants, disengaging himself from his

"Oh, sir," cried the old man, "this is too horrible; my poor master will certainly die."

"But I do not know what is the matter with him; no one has told me anything, in fact."

"It was terribly sudden," answered the man. "It was about this time the day before yesterday that the Duke

was alone with M. Norbert in the diningroom. All at once we heard a great outcry. We ran in and saw my

"Not exactly; the doctor called it a rush of blood to the brain; at least, I think that is what he said, and he

added that the reason he did not die on the spot was because in falling he had cut open his head against the

oaken sideboard, and the wound bled profusely. We carried him up to his bed; he showed no signs of life, and

"No one dare give an opinion; my poor master is quite unconscious, and should he recoverand I do not

think for a moment that he willthe doctor says his mind will have entirely gone."

"Horrible! Too horrible! And a man of such intellectual power, too. I shall not ask you to let me look at him,

for I could do no good, and the sight would upset me. But can I not see M. Norbert?"

"I was his father's intimate friend, and if the condolences of such a one could assuage the affliction under

"Impossible!" answered the man in a quick, eager manner. "M. Norbert was with his father at the time of his

seizure, and has given strict orders that he is not to be disturbed on any account; but I must go to him at once,

"Very well, then I will go now, but tonight I will send up one of my people for news."

With these words, M. de Puymandour walked slowly away, absorbed in thought. The manner and expression

of the servant had struck him as extremely strange. He noted the fact that Norbert was alone with his father at

the time of the seizure, and, recalling to mind the opposition he had met with from his daughter, he began to

imagine that the Duke had found his son rebellious, and that the apoplectic fit had been brought on by a

sudden access of passion. Interest and ambition working together brought him singularly near the truth.

"If the Duke dies, or becomes a maniac," thought he to himself, "the end as regards us will be the same for

He felt that such a proceeding would cause him to be more jeered at and ridiculed than ever, and that the only

path of escape left open to him was to marry his daughter to the Marquis de Croisenois, which was a most

desirable alliance, in spite of all he had said against it. A voice close to his ear aroused him from his

"Was the girl's information correct, Count?" asked he. "How are the Duke and M. Norbert, for of course you

"Of course that was to be looked for," returned the wily Counsellor; "for the seizure was terribly sudden."

M. de Puymandour was too much occupied with his own thoughts to spare much pity for Norbert. He would

have given a great deal to have known what the young man was doing, and especially what he was thinking

The poor lad was standing by the bedside of his dying father, watching eagerly for some indication, however

slight, of returning life or reason. The hours of horror and selfreproach had entirely changed his feelings and

ideas; for it was only at the instant when he saw his father raise the poisoned wine to his lips that he saw his

crime in all its hideous enormity. His soul rose up in rebellion against his crime, and the words, "Parricide!

murderer!" seemed to ring in his ears like a trumpet call. When his father fell to the ground, his instinct made

him shout for aid; but an instant afterwards terror took possession of him, and, rushing from the house, he

Jean, the old servant, who had noticed Norbert's strange look, was seized with a terrible fear. Trusted as he

was by both the Duke and his son, he had many means of knowing all that was going on in the household,

and was no stranger to the differences that had arisen recently between father and son. He knew how violent

the tempers of both were, and he also knew that some woman was urging on Norbert to a course of open

rebellion. He had seen the cruel blow dealt by the Duke, and had wondered greatly when he saw Norbert

return to the Chateau. Why had he done so? He had been in the courtyard when Norbert threw the glass from

the window. Putting all these circumstances together, as soon as the inanimate body of the Duke had been

laid upon a bed, Jean went into the diningroom, feeling sure that he should make some discovery which

would confirm his suspicions. The bottle from which the Duke had filled his glass stood half emptied upon

the table. With the greatest care, he poured a few drops of its contents into the hollow of his hand, and tasted

it with the utmost caution. The wine still retained its customary taste and scent. Not trusting, however, to this,

Jean, after making sure that he was not observed, carried the bottle to his own room, and concealed it. After

taking this precaution, he ordered one of the other servants to remain by the side of the Duke until the arrival

For two hours his efforts were fruitless. Giving up his search in despair, he turned once more to regain the

Chateau, and, taking the path through the wood, suddenly perceived a human form stretched on the turf

beneath a tree. He moved cautiously towards the figure, and at once recognized Norbert. The faithful servant

bent over his young master, and shook him by the arm to arouse him from his state of stupor. At the first

touch, Norbert started to his feet with a shriek of terror. With mingled fear and pity, Jean noticed the look that

shone in the young man's eyes, more like that of some hunted animal than a human being.

"You must, Master Norbert; for your absence now would cause a terrible scandal. Your place at this critical

"Never! never!" repeated the poor boy; but he yielded passively when Jean passed his arm through his, and

led him away towards the Chateau. Supported thus by the old man's arm, he crossed the courtyard, and

ascended the staircase; but at his father's door he withdrew his hand, and struggled to get away.

"You must and you shall," returned the old man firmly. "Whatever your feelings may be, no stain shall rest

These words roused Norbert; he stepped across the room, and dropped on his knees by the bed, placing his

forehead upon his father's icy hand. He burst into a passion of tears and sobs, and the simple peasants, who

surrounded the couch of the insensible nobleman, breathed a sigh; for, from his pallid face and burning eyes,

they believed he must be mad. They were not far out in this surmise; but the tears relieved his overwrought

brain, and with this relief came the sense of intense suffering. When the physician arrived, he was able to

"There is no hope for the Duke, I regret to say," said the medical man, who felt that it was useless to keep

Norbert in suspense. "There is a feeble chance of saving his life; but even should we succeed in doing so, his

intellect will be irretrievably gone. This is a sad truth, but I feel it my duty to inform you of it. I will come

As the doctor left the room, Norbert threw himself into a chair, and clasped his hands round his head, which

throbbed until it seemed as if it would burst. For more than half an hour he sat motionless, and then started to

his feet with a stifled cry; for he remembered the bottle into which he had poured the poison, and which had

been left on the table. Had any one drunk from it? What had become of it? The agony of his mind gave him

the necessary strength to descend to the dining room; but the bottle was not on the table, nor was it in its

customary place in the cupboard. The unhappy boy was looking for it everywhere, when the door silently

opened, and Jean appeared on the threshold. The expression upon his young master's face so startled the

faithful old man that he nearly dropped the lighted candle that he carried in his hand.

"Why are you here, Master Norbert?" asked he in a voice that trembled with emotion.

Jean's suspicions at once became certainties; he walked up to his young master, and whispered in his ear,

"You are looking for the Duke's bottle of wine, are you not? It is quite safe; for I have taken it to my room.

Tomorrow the contents shall be emptied away, and there will be no proof existing."

Jean spoke in such a low voice that Norbert guessed rather than heard his words, and yet it seemed that the

accusing whisper resounded like thunder through the Chateau, filling the old house from cellar to rooftree.

"Be quiet," said he, laying his hand on the old man's lips, and gazing around him with wild and affrighted

"Fear nothing, Master Norbert," answered Jean; "we are quite alone. I know that there are words which

should never be even breathed; and if I have ventured to speak, it was because it was my duty to warn you,

Norbert was filled with horror when he saw that the old man believed him to be really guilty.

"Jean," cried he, "you are wrong in your suspicions. I tell you that my father never tasted that wine. I

snatched the glass from him before his lips had touched it. I flung it out into the courtyard, and, if you search,

"I am not sitting in judgment upon you; what you tell me to believe I am ready to accept."

"Ah!" cried Norbert passionately, "he does not believe me; he thinks that I am guilty. I swear to you by all

"Of course, of course," said he; "but it is for us two to save the honor of the house of Champdoce. Should it

happen that any suspicions should be aroused, put all the guilt upon my shoulders. I will defend myself in a

manner which will only fix the crime more firmly upon me. I will not throw away the bottle, but will retain it

in my room, so that it may be found there, and its contents will be a damnatory evidence against me. What

matters it how a poor man like me is sent out of the world? but with you it is different. You"

Norbert wrung his hands in abject despair; the sublime devotion of the old servant showed how firmly Jean

believed in his criminality. He was about to assert his innocence further, when the loud sound of a closing

"Hush!" said the old man; "some one approaches; we must not be seen whispering together like two plotters,

for their suspicions would be certainly awakened; and I fear that my face or your eyes will reveal the secret.

Quick, go upstairs, and endeavor, as soon as possible, to resume your calmness. I beg you not to compromise

Without another word Norbert obeyed. His father was alone, and only the man to whom Jean had delegated

the task of watcher remained by his bedside. At the sight of his young master he rose.

"The prescription which the doctor ordered to be made up has arrived," said he. "I have administered a dose

Norbert drew up a heavy armchair to the foot of the bed, and took his seat upon it. From this position he

could see his father's face. His brain was dazed, and it was with the utmost difficulty that he could recall the

chain of events which had drawn him towards the abyss into which he had so nearly been precipitated.

The veil had been taken from his eyes, and he now saw with perfect clearness and seemed again to hear his

father's voice as it roughly warned him that the woman he loved was a mere plotter, who cared not for him,

but was scheming for his fortune and his name. Then he had been furiously indignant and looked upon the

words as almost blasphemous, but now he saw that his father was right. How was it that he had not before

seen that Diana was flinging herself in his way, and that all her affected openness and simplicity were merely

the perfections of art, and that step by step she had led him to the brink of the terrible precipice which

yawned before him? The whole hideous part as played by Daumon was no longer a sealed book to him. She

whom he had looked on as a pure and innocent girl was merely the accomplice of a scheming villain like the

Counsellor, and after exciting his hatred and anger almost to madness, had placed the poison which was to

take his father's life in his hands. A cold shiver ran through him as he realized this, and all his ardent love for

At last the first pale rays of dawn broke through the casement, but before that Norbert, worn out with

conflicting emotions, had fallen into a restless and uneasy sleep, and when he awoke the doctor was standing

by the bedside of the sick man. At the first sound made by Norbert as he stirred in the chair, the doctor came

This prognostication was complete, for that very evening the Duke de Champdoce was able to move in his

bed, the next day he uttered some incoherent words, and later on asked for food; but the will of iron had

passed away, the features had lost their expression of determination, and the eye the glitter of pride and

power. Never again would the Duke be able to exert that keen, stern intellect which had enabled him to

influence all those around him; and in this terrible state of imbecility the haughty nobleman would ever

remain, fed and looked after like a child, with no thought beyond his desires and his warm fire, and without a

After the enormity of his crime had been brought before him, the greatness of the punishment that he must

endure now came across Norbert's mind. It was only now that Jean had ventured to tell him of M. de

Puymandour's visit; and such a change had taken place in Norbert that he looked upon this visit as a special

"My father's will shall be carried out in every respect," said he to himself, and without an hour's delay he

wrote to M. de Puymandour, begging him to call, and hoping that the grief which had fallen upon him had in

As the miner, who sets fire to the fuse and seeks shelter from the coming explosion, so did Diana de

Laurebourg return to her father's house after her visit to Daumon. During dinner it was impossible for her to

utter a word, and it was with the greatest difficulty that she succeeded in swallowing a mouthful. Fortunately

neither her father nor mother took any notice of her. They had that day received a letter announcing the news

that their son, for whose future prosperity they had sacrificed Diana, was lying dangerously ill in Paris, where

he was living in great style. They were in terrible affliction, and spoke of starting at once, so as to be with

him. They therefore expressed no surprise when, on leaving the table, Diana pleaded a severe headache as an

excuse for retiring to her own room. When once she was alone, having dismissed her maid, she heaved a deep

sigh of relief. She never thought of retiring to bed, but throwing open her window, leaned out with her elbow

It seemed to her that Norbert would certainly make some effort to see her, or at any rate by some means to let

"But I must be patient," murmured she, "for I can't hear anything until the afternoon of tomorrow."

In spite, however, of her resolutions, patience fled from her mind, and as soon as the servants had begun

moving about, she went out into the garden and took up a position which commanded a view of the highroad,

but no one appeared. The bell rang for breakfast. Again she had to seat herself at table with her parents, and

the terrible penance of the past evening had to be repeated. At three o'clock she could endure the suspense no

longer, and making her escape from the Chateau, she went over to Daumon, who, she felt, must have

obtained some intelligence. Even if she found that he knew nothing, it would be a relief to speak to him and

to ask him when he thought that this terrible delay would come to an end. But she got no comfort at

Daumon's, for he had passed as miserable a night as herself, and was nearly dead with affright. He had

remained in his office all the morning, starting at the slightest sound, and though he was as anxious as Diana

for information, he had only gone out a little before her arrival. He met Mademoiselle Laurebourg on his

return at the door of his cottage, and taking her inside, he informed her that at a late hour the night before the

doctor had been sent for to Champdoce to attend the Duke, who was supposed to be dying. Then he reproved

"Do you wish," said he, "to show all Bevron that you and I are Norbert's accomplices?"

"I mean that if the Duke does not die, we are lost. When I say we, I mean myself, for you, as the daughter of a

noble family, will be sure to escape scot free, and I shall be left to pay for all."

"I did say so, and I thought so too. Ah, if I had but reflected a little! You will however see that I do not intend

to give in without a fight. I will defend myself by accusing you. I am an honest man, and have been your

dupe. You have thought to make me a mere tool; your fine Norbert is a fool, but he will pay for his doings

At these gross insults Mademoiselle de Laurebourg rose to her feet and attempted to speak, but he cut her

"I can't stop to pick and choose my words, for I feel at the present moment as if the axe of the guillotine were

suspended over my head. Now just oblige me by getting out of this, and never show your face here again."

"You shall not," exclaimed Daumon with a gesture of menace. "You might as well go and ask how the Duke

His words, however, did not deter Diana, for any risk seemed preferable to her than the present state of

With a glance of contempt at the Counsellor she left the cottage, determined to act as she thought fit.

After Diana's departure, Daumon felt too that he must learn how matters were going on, and going over to the

Widow Rouleau's, he despatched her daughter Francoise to the Chateau de Champdoce, under the pretext that

he wanted some money which he had lent to one of the Duke's servants. He had instructed the girl so

cunningly that she had no suspicion of the real end and object of her mission, and set out on it with the most

implicit confidence. He had not long to wait for her return, for in about half an hour his messenger returned.

"I cannot even tell you that. Ever since the Duke has been ill, the great gates of the Chateau have been bolted,

"No, sir, the little I have told you I got from a stable boy, who spoke to me through a grating in the gate, but

"Just so," returned the girl, "and very angry he was. He abused the lad and told him to be off to the stables,

and then asked, 'Well, my girl, and pray what do you want?' I told him that I had come with a message to the

man Mechenit; but before I could say any more he broke in with, 'Well, he isn't here, you can call again in a

"Not quite, for I said that I must see Mechenit. Then, looking at me very suspiciously, he said, 'And who sent

"And then Jean rubbed his hand over his chin, and looking at me very curiously, said sternly,

" 'So you have come from the Counsellor, have you? Ah, I see it all, and so shall he one of these days.' "

At these words Daumon felt his knees give way under him; but all further questioning was stopped by the

appearance of M. de Puymandour on his way to Champdoce. He therefore dismissed Francoise, and awaited

the return of this gentleman, from whom he hoped to gain the fullest information regarding the Duke's

malady. The intelligence which he received calmed him a little, and repenting of his treatment of Diana, he

went and hung about the gates of the Chateau de Laurebourg, until he was lucky enough to catch sight of the

girl in the garden, for her anxiety would not permit her to remain in the house. He beckoned to her, and then

"M. Norbert did not make the dose strong enough. The Duke is as strong as a horse; but it is all right, for

should he live, he will be an idiot, and so our end is as much gained as if he had died."

"Why, because he has some faint glimmerings of common sense. How do you know that he may not have

Diana and the Counsellor waited for a week, but Norbert made no sign. Diana suffered agonies, and the days

seemed to pass with leaden feet. Sunday came at last. The Marchioness de Laurebourg had attended early

Mass, and had given orders that her daughter should go to high Mass under the escort of her maid. Diana was

highly pleased with this arrangement, for she hoped to have a chance of seeing Norbert, but she was

disappointed. The Mass had commenced when she entered, but the spot occupied by the Duke and his son

was vacant. She followed the service in a purely mechanical manner, and at last noticed that the priest had

This was generally an exciting moment for the inhabitants of Bevron, for it was immediately before the

sermon that the banns of marriage were published. The priest gazed blandly down upon the expectant crowd,

coughed slightly, used his handkerchief, and finally took from his breviary a sheet of paper.

"I have," said he, "to publish the banns of marriage between" here he made a little pause, and all the

congregation were on the tenterhooks of expectation; "between," he continued, "Monsieur Louis Norbert,

Marquis de Champdoce, a minor, and only legitimate son of Guillaume Caesar, Duke de Champdoce, and of

his wife Isabella de Barnaville, now deceased, but who both formerly resided in this parish, and Desiree Anne

Marie Palouzet, minor, and legitimate daughter of Rene Augustus Palouzet, Count de Puymandour, and of

This was the thunderbolt launched from the pulpit, which seemed to crush Diana into the earth, and her heart

"Let any one," continued the priest, "who knows of any impediment to this marriage, take warning that he or

she must acquaint us with it, under the penalty of excommunication. At the same time let him be warned

under the same penalty to bring forward nothing in malice or without some foundation."

An impediment! What irony lay veiled beneath that word. Mademoiselle de Laurebourg knew of more than

"It is impossible for this marriage to take place, for that Norbert was her affianced husband in the sight of

Heaven, and that he was bound to her by the strongest of all links, that of crime."

But by a gigantic effort she controlled herself, and remained motionless, pallid as a spectre, but with a forced

smile on her lips, and with unparalleled audacity made a little sign to one of her female friends, which plainly

meant, "This is, indeed, something unexpected." All her mind was concentrated to preserve a calm and

unmoved aspect. The singing of the choir seemed to die away, the strong odor of the incense almost

overpowered her, and she felt that unless the service soon came to an end, she must fall insensible from her

chair. At last the priest turned again to the congregation and droned out the /Ita missa est/, and all was over.

Diana grasped the arm of her maid and forced her away, without saying a word. As she reached home, a

"Ah, mademoiselle," gasped he, "such a frightful calamity. Your father and mother are expecting you; it is

Diana hastened to obey the summons. Her father and mother were seated near each other, evidently in deep

distress. She went towards them, and the Marquis, drawing her to him, pressed her against his heart.

"Poor child! My dear daughter!" murmured he, "you are all that is left to us now."

Their son had died, and the sad news had been brought to the Chateau while Diana was at Mass. By her

brother's death she had succeeded to a princely fortune, and would now be one of the richest heiresses for

many a mile round. Had this event happened but a week before, her marriage to Norbert would have met with

no opposition from his father, and she would never have plunged into this abyss of crime. It was more than

the irony of fate; it was the manifest punishment of an angry Divinity. She shed no tear for her brother's

death. Her thoughts were all firmly fixed on Norbert, and that fearful announcement made in the house of

God rang still in her ears. What could be the meaning of this sudden arrangement, and why had the marriage

She felt that some mystery lay beneath it all, and vowed that she would fathom it to its nethermost depths.

What was it that had taken place at Champdoce? Had the Duke, contrary to Daumon's prognostications,

recovered? Had he discovered his son' insidious attack upon his life, and only pardoned it upon a blind

compliance being given to his will? She passed away the whole day in these vain suppositions, and tried to

think of every plan to stay the celebration of this union, for she had not given up her hopes, nor did she yet

despair of ultimate success. Her new and unlookedfor fortune placed a fresh weapon at her disposal, and she

felt that the victory would yet be hers if she could but see Norbert again, were it but for a single instant. Was

she not certain of the absolute power that she exercised over him, for had she not by a few words induced him

to enter upon the terrible path of crime? She must see him, and that without a moment's delay, for the danger

was imminent. A day now would be worth a year hereafter. She determined that, upon that very night, she

would visit Champdoce. A little after midnight, when the inhabitants of the Chateau were wrapped in

slumber, she crept on tiptoe down the grand staircase, and made her exit by a side door. She had arranged her

plan as to how she would find Norbert, for he had often described the interior arrangements of the Chateau to

her. She knew that his room was on the ground floor, with two windows looking on to the courtyard. When,

however, she reached the old Chateau, she hesitated. Suppose that she should go to the wrong window. But

she had gone too far to recede, and determined that if any one else than Norbert should open the window, she

would turn and fly. She tapped at the window softly, and then more loudly. She had made no mistake.

"What do you want?" asked Norbert in an agitated tone of voice. What do you want to do here?"

She looked at him anxiously and hardly recognized his face, so great was the change that had come over it. It

"Yes, I loved you ardently, devotedly, with a love that drove me to crime; but you had no love; you cared but

"Should I be here at this hour if what you say is true?" asked she wildly. "My brother is dead, and I am as

wealthy as you are, Norbert, and yet I am here. You accuse me of being mercenary, and for what reason?

Was it because I refused to fly with you from my father's house? Oh, Norbert, it was but the happiness of our

Her speech failed her, and her eyes dilated with horror, for the door behind Norbert opened, and the Duke de

Champdoce entered the room, uttering a string of meaningless words, and laughing with that mirthless laugh

"Can you understand now," exclaimed Norbert, pointing to his father, "why the remembrance of my love for

you has become a hateful reminiscence? Do you dare to talk of happiness to me, when this spectre of a

meditated crime will ever rise between us?" and with a meaning gesture he pointed to the open gate of the

She turned; but before passing away, she cast a glance upon him full of the deepest fury and jealousy. She

could not forgive Norbert for his share in the crime that she herself prompted,for the crime which had

"Norbert," she said, as she glided through the gate like a spectre of the night, "I will have revenge, and that

Three days of hard work had completed all the arrangements necessary for the marriage of Norbert and

Mademoiselle de Puymandour. He had been presented to the lady, and neither had received a favorable

impression of the other. At the very first glance each one felt that inevitable repugnance which the lapse of

years can never efface. While dreading the anger of her obdurate father, Marie had at one time thought of

confiding the secret of her attachment to George de Croisenois to Norbert, for she had the idea that if she told

him that her heart was another's, he might withdraw his pretensions to her hand; but several times, when the

opportunity occurred, fear restrained her tongue, and she let the propitious moment pass away. Had she done

so, Norbert would at once have eagerly grasped at a pretext for absolving himself from a promise which he

had made mentally of obeying in all things a father who now, alas! had no means of enforcing his commands.

Each day he paid his visit to Puymandour as an accepted suitor, bearing a large bouquet with him, which he

regularly presented to his betrothed upon his entrance into the drawingroom, which she accepted with a

painful flush rising to her cheek. The pair conversed upon indifferent topics, while an aged female connection

sat in the room to play propriety. For many hours they would remain thus, the girl bending over her fancy

work, and he vainly striving to find topics of conversation, and, consequently, saying hardly anything, in

spite of Marie's feeble efforts to assist in the conversation. It was a slight relief when M. de Puymandour

proposed a walk; but this was a rare occurrence, for that gentleman usually declared that he never had a

moment's leisure. Never had he seemed so gay and busy since the approaching marriage of his daughter had

been the theme of every tongue. He took all the preparations for the ceremony into his own hands, for he had

determined that everything should be conducted on a scale of unparalleled magnificence. The Chateau was

refurnished, and all the carriages repainted and varnished, while the Champdoce and the Puymandour arms

were quartered together on their panels. This coat of arms was to be seen everywhereover the doors, on the

walls, and engraved on the silver, and it was believed that M. de Puymandour would have made no objection

In the midst of all this turmoil and bustle Norbert and Marie grew sadder and sadder as each day passed on.

One day M. de Puymandour heard so astounding a piece of intelligence that he hurried into the

drawingroom, where he knew that he should find the lovers (as he styled them) together.

"Well, my children," exclaimed he, "you have set such an excellent example, that everybody seems disposed

to copy you, and the mayor and the priest will be kept to their work rather tightly this year."

"Yes," continued M. de Puymandour, "I have just heard of a marriage that will come off almost directly after

"You are acquainted, I presume," returned the father, addressing himself to Norbert, "with the son of the

"Yes, generally; but he has been staying at Mussidan, and in the short space of a week has managed to lose

"We cannot think who it can be, my dear father," said Marie, "and we are devoured with curiosity."

"It is reported that the Viscount de Mussidan has proposed for the hand of Mademoiselle de Laurebourg."

Norbert flushed scarlet, and then turned a livid white; so great was his agitation at hearing this news, that he

"I like the Viscount," continued M. de Puymandour, "while Mademoiselle Diana is a charming girl. She is

very handsome, and, I believe, has many talents; and she is a good model for you to copy, Marie, as you are

When he got upon his favorite hobby, it was very difficult to check M. de Puymandour. His daughter,

therefore, waited until he had concluded, and then left the room, under the pretext of giving an order to the

servants. The Count hardly noticed her absence, as he had still Norbert at his mercy.

"Reverting again to Mademoiselle Diana," said he: "she looks charming in black, for women should look

upon a death in the family as a most fortunate occurrence; but I ought not to be praising her to you, who are

"Yes, you. I do not suppose that you intend to deny that you have had a little flirtation with her?"

"Well, /I/ do then, my boy; I heard all about your making love to her. Why, you are really blushing! What is

"I have heard a good deal of your little country walks, and all the pretty things that you used to say to each

In vain did Norbert deny the whole thing, for his intended fatherin law would not believe him; and at last

he got so annoyed that he refused to remain and dine with the Count, alleging anxiety for his father as an

excuse. He returned home as soon as he possibly could, much agitated by what he had heard; and as he was

walking rapidly on, he heard his name called by some one who was running after him: Norbert turned round,

"I have been here a week," said the young man. "I am here with my patron, for I have one now. I am now

with the Viscount de Mussidan, as his private secretary. M. Octave is not the most agreeable man in the

world to get on with, as he gets into the most violent passions on very trivial occasions; but he has a good

"And you, Marquis, I hear, are to marry Mademoiselle de Puymandour; I could scarcely credit the news."

"Because I remembered when we used to wait outside a certain garden wall, until we saw a certain door open

"Do not be alarmed; save to you, my lips would never utter a word of this. No one else would ever make me

"I wish you to understand that Mademoiselle Diana is as free from blame today as she was when first I met

In reality Montlouis did not believe one word of Norbert's assertion, and the young Marquis could read this in

"The more so," continued the secretary, "as the young lady is about to be married to my friend and patron."

"But where," asked Norbert, "did the Viscount meet with Mademoiselle de Laurebourg?"

"In Paris; the Viscount and her brother were very intimate, and nursed him during his last illness, and as soon

as the scheming parents heard of the Viscount being in the neighborhood they asked him to call on them. Of

course he did so, and saw Mademoiselle Diana, and returned home in a perfect frenzy of love."

Norbert seemed so incensed at this that Montlouis broke off his recital, feeling confident that the Marquis still

Norbert, however, was too agitated to listen to the idle gossip of Montlouis any longer, so he pressed his hand

and left him rather abruptly, walking away at the top of his speed, leaving his friend silent with astonishment.

It seemed to Norbert as if he was imprisoned in one of those iron dungeons he had read of, which slowly

contracted day by day, and at last crushed their victims to atoms. He saw Diana married to the Viscount de

Mussidan, and compelled to meet daily the man who knew all about her illicit meetings with her former

lover, and who had more than once, when Norbert was unable to leave Champdoce, been intrusted with a

letter or a message for her. And how would Montlouis behave under the circumstances? Would he possess

the necessary tact and coolness to carry him through so difficult a position? What would be the end of this

cruel concatenation of circumstances? Would Diana be able to endure the compromising witness of her

youthful error? She would eagerly seek out some pretext for his dismissal; he could easily detect this, and in

his anger at the loss of a position which he had long desired, would turn on her and repeat the whole story.

Should Montlouis let loose his tongue, the Viscount, indignant at the imposition that had been practised upon

him, would separate from his wife. What would be Diana's conduct when she found herself left thus alone,

and despised by the society of which she had hoped to be a queen? Would she not, in her turn, seek to

revenge herself on Norbert? He had just asked himself whether at this juncture death would not be a blessing

to him, when he caught sight of Francoise, the daughter of the Widow Rouleau, close by him. For two hours

"You said that I did not love youperhaps this was but a test to prove my love. I am ready to fly with you

tonight. I shall lose all, but it will be for your sake. Reflect, Norbert; there is yet time, but tomorrow it will

These were the words that Mademoiselle de Laurebourg had had the courage to pen, which to the former

lover were full of the most thrilling eloquence. The usually bold, firm writing of Diana was, in the letter

before him, confused and almost illegible, showing the writer's frame of mind. There were blurs and blisters

upon the paper as though tears had fallen upon it, perhaps because the writing had been made purposely

He hesitated; yes, he absolutely hesitated, impressed by the idea that for him she was ready to sacrifice

position and honor, that he had but to raise his finger and she was his, and that in the space of a couple of

hours she might be the companion of his flight to some fardistant land. His pulse throbbed madly, and he

could scarcely draw his breath, when some fifty paces down the road he caught sight of the figure of a man; it

was his father. This was the second time that the Duke by his mere presence had spread the web of Diana's

"Never!" exclaimed Norbert, with such fire and energy that the girl fell back a pace. "Never! no, never!" and

crushing up the letter, he dashed it upon the ground, from whence Francoise picked it up as he ran forward to

meet his father. The Duke had recovered from his attack as far as the mere fact of his life not having been

sacrificed; he could walk, sleep, eat and drink as he had formerly done. He could look at the laborers in the

fields or the horses in the stables, but five minutes afterwards he had no recollection of what he heard or saw.

The sudden loss of his father's aid would have caused Norbert much embarrassment had it not been for the

shrewdness and sagacity of M. de Puymandour, who had assisted him greatly. But all these arrangements

which had to be made had necessarily delayed the wedding. But it came at last; M. de Puymandour took

absolute possession of him, and after the unhappy young man had passed a sleepless night, he was allowed no

time for reflection. At eleven o'clock he entered the carriage, and was driven fast to the Mayor's office, and

from thence to the chapel, and by twelve o'clock all was finished and he fettered for life. A little before dinner

the Viscount de Mussidan came to offer his congratulations, and gained them at the same time for himself by

Five days later the newly married pair took possession of their mansion at Champdoce. Hampered with a wife

whom he had never affected to love, and whose tearful face was a constant reproach to him, and with a father

who was an utter imbecile, the thoughts of suicide more than once crossed Norbert's brain. One day a servant

informed Norbert that his father refused to get up. A doctor was sent for, and he declared that the Duke was

in a highly critical condition. A violent reaction had taken place, and all day the invalid was in a state of

intense excitement. The power of speech, which he had almost entirely lost, seemed to have returned to him

in a miraculous manner; at length, however, he became delirious, and Norbert dismissed the servants who had

been watching by his father's bed, lest in the incoherent ravings of the invalid, the words "Parricide" or

"Poison" should break forth. At eleven o'clock he grew calmer, and slept a little, when all at once he started

up in bed, exclaiming: "Come here, Norbert," and Jean, who had remained by his old master's side, ran up to

the bed and was much startled at the sight. The Duke had entirely recovered his former appearance. His eyes

The Duke softly stretched out his hand. "I was mad with family pride," said he; "and God punished me. My

"My son, I renounce my ideas," continued the Duke. "I do not desire you to wed Mademoiselle de

"Father," answered Norbert, "I have obeyed your wishes, and she is now my wife."

A gleam of terrible anguish passed over the Duke's countenance; he raised his hands as though to shield his

eyes from some grizzly spectre, and in tones of heartrending agony exclaimed: "Too late! Too late!"

He fell back in terrible convulsions, and in a moment was dead. If, as has been often asserted, the veil of the

hereafter is torn asunder, then the Duke de Champdoce had a glimpse into a terrible future.

After her repulse by Norbert, Diana, with the cold chill of death in her heart, made her way back to the

Chateau of the De Laurebourgs, over the same road which but a short time before she had traveled full of

expectation and hope. The sudden appearance of the Duke de Champdoce had filled her with alarm, but her

imagination was not of that kind upon which unpleasant impressions remain for any long period; for after she

had regained her room, and thrown aside her out door attire, and removed all signs of mudstains, she once

more became herself, and even laughed a little rippling laugh at all her own past alarms. Overwhelmed with

the shame of her repulse, she had threatened Norbert; but as she reasoned calmly, she felt that it was not he

for whom she felt the most violent animosity. All her hatred was reserved for that woman who had come

between her and her loverfor Marie de Puymandour. Some hidden feeling warned her that she must look

into Marie's past life for some reason for the rupture of her engagement with Norbert, though the banns had

already been published. This was the frame of mind in which Diana was when the Viscount de Mussidan was

introduced to her, the friend of the brother whose untimely death had left her such a wealthy heiress. He was

tall and well made, with handsomely chiseled features; and, endowed with physical strength and health,

Octave de Mussidan had the additional advantages of noble descent and princely fortune. Two women, both

renowned for their wit and beauty, his aunt and his mother, had been intrusted with the education which

Dispatched to Paris, with an ample allowance, at the age of twenty, he found himself, thanks to his birth and

connections, in the very center of the world of fashion. At the sight of Mademoiselle de Laurebourg his heart

was touched for the first time. Diana had never been more charmingly fascinating than she was at this period.

Octave de Mussidan did not suit her fancy; there was too great a difference between him and Norbert, and

nothing would ever efface from her memory the recollection of the young Marquis as he had appeared before

her on the first day of their meeting in the Forest of Bevron, clad in his rustic garb, with the game he had shot

dangling from his hand. She delighted to feast her recollection, and thought fondly of his shyness and

diffidence when he hardly ventured to raise his eyes to hers. Octave, however, fell a victim at the first glance

he caught of Diana, and permitted himself to be swept away by the tide of his private emotions, which upon

every visit that he paid to Laurebourg became more powerful and resistless. Like a true knight, who wishes

that he himself should gain the love of his lady fair, Octave addressed himself directly to Diana, and after

many attempts succeeded in finding himself alone with her, and then he asked her if she could permit him to

crave of her father, the Marquis de Laurebourg, the honor of her hand. This appeal surprised her, for she had

been so much absorbed in her own troubles that she had not even suspected his love for her. She was not even

frightened at his declaration, as is the patient when the surgeon informs him that he must use the knife. She

glanced at De Mussidan strangely as he put this question to her, and after a moment's hesitation, replied that

she would give him a reply the next day. After thinking the matter over, she wrote and dispatched the letter

which Francoise had carried to Norbert. The prisoner in the dock as he anxiously awaits the sentence of his

judge, can alone appreciate Diana's state of agonized suspense as she stood at the end of the park at

Laurebourg awaiting the return of the girl. Her anxiety of mind lasted nearly three hours, when Francoise

In order to prevent any suspicions arising in the girl's mind, Mademoiselle de Laurebourg contrived to force a

Francoise seemed as if she had something to say on the tip of her tongue, but Diana hurriedly dismissed her,

pressing a coin into her hand. All anxiety was now at an end; for her there was no longer any suspense or

anguish; all her struggles were now futile, and she felt grateful to Octave for having given her his love. "Once

married," thought she, "I shall be free, and shall be able to follow the Duke and Duchess to Paris."

Upon her return to the Chateau, she found Octave awaiting her. His eyes put the question that his lips did not

dare to utter; and, placing her hand in his with a gentle inclination of her head, she assented to his prayer.

This act on her part would, she believed, free her from the past; but she was in error. Upon hearing that his

dastardly attempt at murder had failed, the Counsellor was for the time utterly overwhelmed with terror, but

the news that he had gained from M. de Puymandour calmed his mind in a great measure. He was not,

however, completely reassured until he heard for certain that the Duke had become a helpless maniac, and

that the doctor, having given up all hopes of his patient's recovery, had discontinued his visits to the Chateau.

As soon as he had heard that Norbert's marriage had been so soon followed by his father's death, he imagined

that every cloud had disappeared from the sky. All danger now seemed at an end, and he recalled with glee

that he had in his strong box the promissory notes, signed by Norbert, to the amount of twenty thousand

francs, which he could demand at any moment, now that Norbert was the reigning lord of Champdoce. The

first step he took was to hang about the neighborhood of Laurebourg, for he thought that some lucky chance

would surely favor him with an opportunity for a little conversation with Mademoiselle Diana. For several

days in succession he was unsuccessful, but at last he was delighted at seeing her alone, walking in the

direction of Bevron. Without her suspecting it, he followed her until the road passed through a small

He made no direct reply; but after apologizing for his boldness, he began to offer his congratulations upon her

approaching marriage, which was now the talk of the whole neighborhood, and which pleased him much, as

"Is that all you have to say to me?" asked Diana, interrupting his string of words.

As she turned from him, he had the audacity to lay his hand upon the edge of her jacket.

"I have more to say," said he, "if you will honor me with your attention. Something aboutyou can guess

He smiled, glanced around to see that no one was within hearing, and then said in a low voice,

All his servile manner had now returned to him, and he uttered a string of complaints in a whining tone of

voice. She had played him a most unfair trick, and had stolen a certain little glass bottle from his office; and if

anything had leaked out, his head would have paid the penalty of a crime in which he had no hand. He was

quite ill, owing to the suspense and anxiety he had endured; sleep would not come to his bed, and the pangs

"Enough," cried Diana, stamping her foot angrily on the ground. "Enough, I say."

"Well, mademoiselle, I can no longer remain here. I am far too nervous, and I wish to go to some foreign

Thus adjured, Daumon spoke. He only wished for some little memento to cheer his days and nights of exile,

some little recognition of his services; in fact, such a sum as would bring him in an income of three thousand

"I understand you," replied Diana. "You wish to be paid for what you call your kindness."

"And you put a value of sixty thousand francs upon it; that is rather a high price, is it not?"

"Demand!" returned he; "I make no demand. I come to you respectfully and with a little charity. If I were to

demand, I should come to you in quite a different manner. I should say, 'Pay me such and such a sum, or I tell

everything.' What have I to lose if the whole story comes to light? A mere nothing. I am a poor man, and am

growing old. You and M. Norbert are the ones that have something to fear. You are noble, rich, and young,

"You are speaking," answered she at last, "in a most foolish manner. When charges are made against people,

"Quite right, mademoiselle; but can you say that these proofs are not in my hands? Should you, however,

desire to buy them, you are at liberty to do so. I give you the first option, and yet you grumble."

As he spoke, he drew a battered leather pocketbook from his breast, and took from it a paper, which, after

having been crumpled, had been carefully smoothed out again. Diana glanced at it, and then uttered a stifled

"That wretch, Francoise, has betrayed me," exclaimed she, "and I saved her mother from a death by hunger

The Counsellor held out the letter to her. She thought that he had no suspicion of her, and made an attempt to

snatch it from him; but he was on his guard, and drew back with a sarcastic smile on his face.

"No, mademoiselle," said he; "this is not the little bottle of poison; however, I will give it to you, together

with another one, when I have obtained what I ask. Nothing for nothing, however; and if I must go to the

"I am not quite such a fool," answered he; "I know M. Norbert too well. He is the very image of his father.

But you can manage him, mademoiselle; besides, you have much interest in having the matter settled."

"There is no use in beating about the bush. I come to you humbly enough, and you treat me like so much dirt.

I will not submit to this, as you will find to your cost. /I/ never poisoned any one; but enough of this kind of

thing. Today is Tuesday; if on Friday, by six o'clock, I do not have what I have asked for, your father and

the Count Octave will have a letter from me, and perhaps your fine marriage may come to nothing after all."

This insolence absolutely struck Diana dumb, and Daumon had disappeared round a turning of the road

before she could find words to crush him for his vile attempt at extortion. She felt that he was capable of

keeping his word, even if by so doing he seriously injured himself without gaining any advantage.

A nature like Diana's always looks danger boldly in the face. She had, however, but little choice how she

would actfor to apply to Norbert was the only resource left to herfor she knew that he would do all in

his power to ward off the danger which threatened both of them so nearly. The idea, however, of applying to

him for aid was repugnant to her pride. To what depths of meanness and infamy had she descended! and to

She was at the mercy of a wretchof Daumon, in fact. She was forced to go as a suppliant to a man whom

she had loved so well that she now hated him with a deadly hatred. But she did not hesitate for a moment.

She went straight to the cottage of Widow Rouleau, and despatched Francoise in quest of Norbert.

She ordered the girl to tell him that he must without fail be at the wicket gate in the park wall at Laurebourg

on the coming night, where she would meet him, and that the matter was one of life and death.

As Diana gave these orders to Francoise, the woman's nervous air and flushed features plainly showed that

she was a mere creature of Daumon's; but Mademoiselle de Laurebourg felt it would be unwise to take any

notice of her discovery, but to abstain from employing her in confidential communications for the future.

As the hour of the meeting drew near a host of doubts assailed her. Would Norbert come to the meeting? Had

Francoise contrived to see him? Might he not be absent from home? It was now growing dark, and the

servants brought candles into the diningroom, and Diana, contriving to slip away, gained the appointed spot.

Norbert was waiting, and when he caught sight of her, rushed forward, but stopped as though restrained by a

After a pause, in which she succeeded in mastering her emotion, Diana began with the utmost volubility to

explain the extortion that Daumon was endeavoring to practise upon her, magnifying, though there was but

little need to do so, all the threats and menaces that he had made use of. She had imagined that this last piece

of roguery on the part of Daumon would drive Norbert into a furious passion, but to her surprise it had no

such effect. He had suffered so much and so deeply, that his heart was almost dead against any further

"Do not let this trouble you," answered he apathetically; "I will see Daumon and settle with him."

"Farewell, Norbert; we shall see no more of each other. I am going to marry, as you have doubtless been

informed. Can I oppose my parent's will? Besides, what does it signify? Farewell; remember no one wishes

"Happy!" exclaimed Norbert. "How can I ever be happy again? If you know the secret, for pity's sake break it

to me. Tell me how to forget and how to annihilate thought. Do you not know that I had planned a life of

perfect happiness with you by my side? I had visions; and now plans and visions are alike hateful to me. And

as they ever and anon recur to my memory, they will fill me with terror and despair."

As Diana heard these words of agony, a wild gleam of triumph shot from her eyes, but it faded away quickly,

and left her cold and emotionless as a marble statue; and when she reappeared in the drawingroom, after

taking leave of Norbert, her face wore so satisfied an expression, that the Viscount complimented her upon

She made some jesting retort, but there was a shade of earnestness mixed with her playfulness, for to her

future husband she only wished to show the amiable side of her character; but all the time she was thinking.

The Duke kept his word, and the next day the faithful Jean discreetly handed her a packet. She opened it and

found that besides the two letters of which the Counsellor had spoken, it contained all her correspondence

with Norbertmore than a hundred letters in all, some of great length, and all of them compromising to a

certain extent. Her first thought was to destroy them, but on reflection she decided not to do so, and hid the

packet in the same place as she had concealed the letters written by Norbert to her.

Norbert had given Daumon sixty thousand francs, and in addition owed him twenty thousand on his

promissory notes. This sum, in addition to what he had already saved, would form such a snug little fortune

that it would enable the Counsellor to quit Bevron, and take up his abode in Paris, where his peculiar talents

would have more scope for development. And eight days later the village was thrown into a state of intense

excitement by the fact becoming known that Daumon had shut up his house and departed for Paris, taking

Francoise, the Widow Rouleau's daughter, with him. The Widow Rouleau was furious, and openly accused

Mademoiselle de Laurebourg of having aided in the committal of the act which had deprived her of her

daughter's services in her declining years; and the old woman who had acted as housekeeper, who on

Daumon's departure had thrown open the place, did not hesitate to assert that all her late master's legal lore

had been acquired in prison, where he had undergone a sentence of ten years' penal servitude.

In spite of all this, however, Mademoiselle de Laurebourg was secretly delighted at the departure of Daumon

and Francoise; for she experienced an intense feeling of relief at knowing that she no longer was in any risk

of meeting her accomplice in her daily walks. Norbert, too, was going to Paris with his wife; and M. de

Puymandour was going about saying that his daughter, the Duchess of Champdoce, would not return to this

Diana drew a long breath of relief, for it seemed to her as if all the threatening clouds, which had darkened

the horizon, were fast breaking up and drifting away. Her future seemed clear, and she could continue the

preparations for her marriage, which was to be celebrated in a fortnight's time; and the friend of Octave who

Diana had taken accurate measurement of the love that Octave lavished upon her, and did her utmost to

increase it. She had another cruel idea, and that was that the bewitching manner which she had assumed

towards her betrothed was excellent practice, and by it she might judge of her future success in society when

she resided in Paris. Octave was utterly conquered, as any other man would have been under similar

Upon the day of her wedding she was dazzling in her beauty, and her face was radiant with happiness; but it

was a mere mask, which she had put on to conceal her real feelings. She knew that many curious eyes were

fixed on her as she left the chapel; and the crowd formed a line for her to pass through. She saw many a

glance of dislike cast upon her; but a more severe blow awaited her, for on her arrival at the Chateau de

Mussidan, to which she was driven directly after the ceremony, the first person she met was Montlouis, who

came forward to welcome her. Bold and selfpossessed as she was, the slight of this man startled her, and a

bright flush passed across her face. Fortunately Montlouis had had time to prepare himself for this meeting,

and his face showed no token of recognition. But though his salutation was of the most respectful description,

Madame de Mussidan thought she saw in his eyes that ironical expression of contempt which she had more

It was easy enough for her to ask her husband to dismiss Montlouis from his employ, but it was a dangerous

step to take; and her easiest course was to defer the dismissal of the secretary until some really good pretext

offered itself. Nor was this pretext long in presenting itself; for Octave was by no means satisfied with the

young man's conduct. Montlouis who had been full of zeal while in Paris, had renewed his /liaison/, on his

return to Mussidan, with the girl with whom he had been formerly entangled at Poitiers. This, of course,

could not be permitted to go on, and an explosion was clearly to be expected; but what Diana dreaded most

After she had been married some two weeks, when Octave proposed in the afternoon that they should go for a

walk, she agreed. Her preparations were soon completed, and they started off, blithe and lively as children on

a holiday ramble. As they loitered in a wooded path, they heard a dog barking in the cover. It was Bruno, who

"Help, help, Octave!" she exclaimed, and her husband, springing to her side, drove away the animal.

"No matter; make him go away"; and as she spoke she struck at him with her parasol. But the dog never for a

moment supposed that Diana was in earnest, and, supposing that she intended to play with him, as she had

"Know me? Impossible!" and as she spoke Bruno ran up and licked her hand. "If he does, his memory is

better than mine; at any rate, I am half afraid of him. Come, Octave, let us go."

They turned away, and Octave would have forgotten all about the occurrence had not Bruno, delighted at

"This is strange," exclaimed the Viscount, "very strange indeed. Look here, my man," said he, addressing a

peasant, who was engaged in clipping a hedge by the roadside, "do you know whose dog this is?"

"Of course," answered Diana, "I have often seen the dog at the Widow Rouleau's, and have occasionally

given it a piece of bread. He was always with Francoise, who ran off with that man Daumon. Oh, yes, I know

The dog rushed to her, and, stooping down, she caressed him, thus hoping to conceal her telltale face.

Octave drew his wife's arm within his without another word. A strange feeling of doubt had arisen in his

mind. Diana, too, was much disturbed, and abused herself mentally for having been so weak and cowardly.

Why had she not at once confessed that she knew the dog? Had she said at once, "Why, that is Bruno, the

Duke of Champdoce's dog," her husband would have thought no more about the matter; but her own folly had

Ever since that fatal walk the Viscount's manner appeared to have changed, and more than once Diana

fancied that she caught a look of suspicion in his eyes. How could she best manage to make him forget this

unlucky event? She saw that for the rest of her life she must affect a terror of dogs; and, for the future,

whenever she saw one, she uttered a little cry of alarm, and insisted upon all Octave's being chained up. But

for all this she lived in a perfect atmosphere of suspicion and anxiety, while the very ground upon which she

walked seemed to have been mined beneath her feet. Her sole wish now was to fly from Mussidan, and leave

Bevron and its environs, she cared not for what spot. It has been first arranged that immediately after the

marriage they should make a short tour; but in spite of this, they still lingered at Mussidan; and all that Diana

could do was to keep this previous determination before her husband, without making any direct attack.

The blow came at last, and was more unexpected and terrible than she had anticipated. On the afternoon of

the 26th of October, as Diana was gazing from her window, an excited crowd rushed into the courtyard of the

Chateau, followed by four men bearing a litter covered with a sheet, under which could be distinguished the

rigid limbs of a dead body, while a cruel crimson stain upon one side of the white covering too plainly

The hideous sight froze Diana with terror, and it was impossible for her to leave the window or quit the object

on the litter, which seemed to have a terrible fascination for her. That very morning her husband,

accompanied by his friend the Baron de Clinchain, Montlouis, and a servant named Ludovic, had gone out

for a day's shooting. It was evident that something had happened to one of the party; which of them could it

be? The doubt was not of very long duration; for at that moment her husband entered the courtyard, supported

by M. de Clinchain and Ludovic. His face was deadly pale, and he seemed scarcely able to drag one leg after

the other. The dead man therefore must be Montlouis. She need no longer plot and scheme for the dismissal

A ray of comfort dawned in Diana's heart at this idea, and gave her the strength to descend the staircase.

Halfway down she met M. de Clinchain, who was ascending. He seized her by the arm, and said hoarsely,

"A terrible calamity. Go back to your room, I beg of you. Your husband will be here presently"; and, as

Octave followed, and, extending his arms, pressed his wife closely to his breast, bursting as he did so into a

"Ah!" cried M. de Clinchain joyously, "he is saved. See, he weeps; I had feared for his reason."

After many questions and incoherent answers, Madame de Mussidan at last arrived at the fact that her

husband had shot Montlouis by accident. Diana believed this story, but it was far from the truth. Montlouis

had met his death at her hands quite as much as the Duke de Champdoce had done. He had died because he

This was what had really occurred. After lunch, Octave, who had drunk rather freely, began to rally

Montlouis regarding his mysterious movements, and to assert that some woman must be at the bottom of

them. At first Montlouis joined in the laugh; but at length M. de Mussidan became too personal in remarks

regarding the woman his secretary loved, and Montlouis responded angrily. This influenced his master's

temper, and he went on to say that he could no longer permit such doings, and he reproached his secretary for

risking his present and future for a woman who was worthy neither of love nor respect, and who was

notoriously unfaithful to him. Montlouis heard this last taunt with compressed lips and a deep cloud upon his

He spoke so disrespectfully that Octave was about to strike him, but Montlouis drew back and avoided the

blow; but he was so intoxicated with fury that this last insult roused him beyond all bounds.

"By what right do you speak thus," said he, "who have married another man's mistress? It well becomes you

He had no time to finish his sentence, for Octave, levelling his gun, shot him through the heart.

M. de Mussidan kept these facts from his wife because he really loved her, and true love is capable of any

extreme; and he felt that, however strong the cause might be, he should never have the courage to separate

from Diana; that whatever she might do in the future, or had already done in the past, he could not choose but

Acquitted of all blame, thanks to Clinchain's and Ludovic's evidence for they had mutually agreed that the

tragical occurrence should be represented to have been the result of an accidentthe conscience of M. de

Mussidan left him but little peace. The girl whom Montlouis had loved had been driven from her home in

disgrace, owing to having given birth to a son. Octave sought her out, and, without giving any reason for his

generosity, told her that her son, whom she had named Paul, after his father, Montlouis, should never come to

Shortly after this sad occurrence, M. de Mussidan and his wife quitted Poitiers, for Diana had more than once

determined that she would make Paris her residence for the future. She had taken into her service a woman

who had been in the service of Marie de Puymandour, and through her had discovered that, previous to her

marriage with Norbert, Marie had loved George de Croisenois; and she intended to use this knowledge at

some future date as a weapon with which to deal the Duke de Champdoce a deadly blow.

The marriage between Norbert and Mademoiselle de Puymandour was entirely deficient in that brief,

ephemeral light that shines over the honeymoon. The icy wall that stood between them became each day

stronger and taller. There was no one to smooth away inequalities, no one to exercise a kindly influence over

two characters, both haughty and determined. After his father's death, when Norbert announced his intention

of residing in Paris, M. de Puymandour highly approved of this resolution, for he fancied that if he were to

remain alone in the country, he could to a certain extent take the place and position of the late Duke, and,

with the permission of his soninlaw, at once take up his residence at Champdoce.

Almost as soon as the young Duchess arrived in Paris she realized the fact that she was the most unfortunate

woman in the world. As Champdoce was almost like her own home, her eyes lighted on familiar scenes; and

if she went out, she was sure of being greeted by kindly words and friendly features; but in Paris she only

found solitude, for everything there was strange and hostile. The late Duke, pinching and parsimonious as he

had been towards himself and his son, launched out into the wildest extravagances when he imagined he was

working for his coming race, and the home which he had prepared for his great grandchildren was the

Upon the arrival of Norbert and his wife, they could almost fancy that they had only quitted their town house

a few days before, so perfect were all the arrangements. Had Norbert been left to act for himself, he might

have felt a little embarrassed, but his trusty servant Jean aided him with his advice, and the establishment was

kept on a footing to do honor to the traditions of the house of Champdoce. Everything can be procured in

Paris for money, and Jean had filled the anterooms with lackeys, the kitchens and offices with cooks and

scullions, and the stables with grooms, coachmen, and horses, while every description of carriage stood in the

But all this bustle and excitement did not seem in the eyes of the young Duchess to impart life to the house. It

appeared to her dead and empty as a sepulchre. It seemed as if she were living beneath the weight of some

vague and indefinable terror, some hideous and hidden spectre which might at any moment start from its

hiding place and drive her mad with the alarm it excited. She had not a soul in whom she could confide. She

had been forbidden by Norbert to renew her acquaintance with her old Parisian friends, for Norbert did not

consider them of sufficiently good family, and in addition he had used the pretext of the deep mourning they

were in to put off receiving visitors for a twelvemonth at least. She felt herself alone and solitary, and, in this

frame of mind, how was it possible for her not to let her thoughts wander once again to George de Croisenois.

Had her father been willing, she might have been his wife now, and have been wandering hand in hand in

some sequestered spot beneath the clear blue sky of Italy. /He/ had loved her, while Norbert.

Norbert was leading one of those mad, headstrong lives which have but two conclusionsruin or suicide.

His name had been put up for election at a fashionable club by his uncle, the Chevalier de Septraor, as soon

as he arrived in Paris. He had been elected at once, being looked on as a decided acquisition to the list of

members. He bore one of the oldest names to be found among the French nobility, while his fortune

gigantic as it washad been magnified threefold by the tongue of common report. He was received with

open arms everywhere, and lived in a perfect atmosphere of flattery. Not being able to shine by means of

cultivation or polish, he sought to gain a position in his club by a certain roughness of demeanor and a

cynical mode of speech. He flung away his money in every direction, kept racers, and was uniformly

fortunate in his betting transactions. He frequented the world of gallantry, and was constantly to be seen in

the company of women whose reputations were exceedingly equivocal. His days were spent on horseback, or

in the fencing room, and his nights in drinking, gambling, and all kinds of debauchery. His wife scarcely ever

saw him, for when he returned home it was usually with the first beams of day, either half intoxicated or

savage from having lost large sums at the gambling table. Jean, the old and trusty retainer of the house of

Champdoce, was deeply grieved, not so much at seeing his master so rapidly pursuing the path to ruin as at

the fact that he was ever surrounded by dissolute and disreputable acquaintances.

"And what does that matter," sneered Norbert, "provided that I live a jolly life, and shuffle out of the world

There was one fixed star in all the dark clouds that surrounded him, which now seemed to blaze brightly, and

this star was Diana de Mussidan. Do what he would, it was impossible to efface her image from his memory.

Even amidst the fumes of wine and the debauched revelry of the supper table he could see the form that he

had once so passionately loved standing out like a pillar of light, clear and distinct against the darkness. He

had led this demoralizing existence for fully six months, when one day, as he was riding down the Avenue

des Champs Elysees, he saw a lady give him a friendly bow. She was seated in a magnificent open carriage,

wrapped in the richest and most costly furs. Thinking that she might be one of the many actresses with whom

he was acquainted, Norbert turned his horse's head towards the carriage; but as he got nearer he saw, to his

extreme amazement and almost terror, that it was Diana de Mussidan who was seated in it. He did not turn

back, however; and as the carriage had just drawn up, he reined in his horse alongside of it. Diana was as

much agitated as he was, and for a moment neither of them spoke, but their eyes were firmly fixed upon each

other, and they sat pale and breathless, as if each had some sad presentiment which fate was preparing for

them both. At last Norbert felt that he must break the silence, for the servants were beginning to gaze upon

She had drawn out a slender hand from the mass of furs in which she was enveloped, and extended it to him,

as she replied in a tone which had a ring of tenderness beneath its commonplace tone,

"Yes, we are established here, and I hope that we shall be as good friends as we were once before. Farewell,

As if her words had been a signal, the coachman struck his horses lightly with his whip, and the magnificent

equipage rolled swiftly away. Norbert had not accepted Diana's proffered hand, but presently he realized the

whole scene, and plunging his spurs into his horse dashed furiously up the Avenue in the direction of the Arc

"Ah!" said he, as a bitter pang of despair shot through his heart, "I still love her, and can never care for any

one else; but I will see her again. She has not forgotten me. I could read it in her eyes, and detect it all in the

tones of her voice." Here a momentary gleam of reason crossed his brain. "But will a woman like Diana ever

forgive an offence like mine? and when she seems most friendly the danger is the more near."

Unfortunately he thrust aside this idea, and refused to listen to the voice of reason. That evening he went

down to his club with the intention of asking a few questions regarding the Mussidans. He heard enough to

satisfy himself, and the next day he met Madame de Mussidan in the Champs Elysees, and for many days

afterwards in rapid succession. Each day they exchanged a few words, and at last Diana, with much simulated

hesitation, promised to alight from her carriage when next they met in the Bois, and talk to Norbert

Madame de Mussidan had made the appointment for three o'clock, but before two Norbert was on the spot, in

"Is it I," asked he of himself, "waiting once more for Diana, as I have so often waited for her at Bevron?"

Ah, how many changes had taken place since then! He was now no longer waiting for Diana de Laurebourg,

but for the Countess de Mussidan, another man's wife, while he also was a married man. It was no longer the

whim of a monomaniac that kept them apart, but the dictates of law, honor, and the world.

"Why," said he, in a mad burst of passion, "why should we not set at defiance all the cold social rules framed

by an artificial state of society; why should not the woman leave her husband and the man his wife?" Norbert

had consulted his watch times without number before the appointed hour came. "Ah," sighed he, "suppose

As he said these words a cab stopped, and the Countess de Mussidan alighted from it. She came rapidly along

towards him, crossing an open space without heeding the irregularities of the ground, as that diminished the

distance which separated her from Norbert. He advanced to meet her, and taking his arm, they plunged into

the recesses of the Bois. There had been heavy rain on the day previous, and the pathway was wet and

"Let us go on," said she, "until we are certain of not being seen from the road. I have taken every precaution.

My carriage and servants are waiting for me in front of St. Philippe du Roule; but for all that I may have been

"Then I was my own mistress; and if I lost my reputation, the loss affected me only; but on my wedding day I

had a sacred trust confided to methe honor of the man who has given me his name, and that I must guard

She stopped suddenly, and overwhelming Norbert with one of those glacial glances which she knew so well

"Your memory fails you; all that has remained to me of the past is the rejection of a proposal conveyed in a

"Mercy!" said he. "You would pardon me if you knew all the horrors of the punishment that I am enduring. I

A smile played round Diana's beautiful mouth, for Norbert had told her nothing that she did not know before,

"Alas!" murmured she; "I can only frame my reply with the fatal words, '/Too late/!' "

"Do not use that name," said she; "you have no right to do so. Is it not sufficient to have blighted the young

girl's life? and yet you seek to compromise the honor of the wife. You must forget me; do you understand? It

is to tell you this that I am here. The other day, when I saw you again, I lost my selfcommand. My heart

leapt up at the sight of you, and, fool that I was, I permitted you to see this; but base no hopes on my

weakness. I said to you, Let us be friends. It was a mere act of madness. We can never be friends, and had

better, therefore, treat each other as strangers. Do you forget that lying tongues at Bevron accused me of

being your mistress? Do you think that this falsehood has not reached my husband's ears? One day, when

your name was mentioned in his presence, I saw a gleam of hatred and jealousy in his eye. Great heavens!

should he, on my return, suspect that my hand had rested in yours, he would expel me from his house like

some guilty wretch! The door of our house must remain for ever closed to you. I am miserable indeed. Be a

man; and if your heart still holds one atom of the love you once bore for me, prove it by never seeking me

As she concluded she hurried away, leaving in Norbert's heart a more deadly poison than the one she had

endeavored to persuade the son to administer to his father, the Duke de Champdoce. She knew each chord

that vibrated in his heart, and could play on it at will. She felt sure that in a month he would again be her

slave, and that she could exercise over him a sway more despotic than she had yet done, and, in addition to

this, that he would assist her in executing a cruel scheme of revenge, which she had long been plotting.

After having followed Diana about like her very shadow for several days, Norbert at last ventured to

approach her in the Champs Elysees. She was angry, but not to such an extent that he feared to repeat his

offence. Then she wept, but her tears could not force him to avoid her. At first her system of defence was

very strong, then it gradually grew weaker. She granted him another interview, and then two others followed.

But what were these meetings worth to him? They took place in a church or a public gallery, in places where

they could scarcely exchange a grasp of the hand. At length she told him that she had thought of a place

which would render their interviews less perilous, but that she hardly dared tell him where it was. He pressed

her to tell him, and, by degrees, she permitted herself to be persuaded. Her idea was to become the friend of

Norbert now felt that she was more an angel than a woman, and it was agreed that on the next day he himself

It was on a Wednesday morning that the Duke de Champdoce, instead of, as usual, going to his own or one of

his friends' clubs to breakfast, took his seat at the table where his wife was partaking of her morning meal. He

was in excellent spirits, gay, and full of pleasant talk, a mood in which his wife had never seen him since

their illfated marriage. The Duchess could not understand this sudden change in her husband; it terrified and

alarmed her, for she felt that it was the forerunner of some serious event, which would change the current of

Norbert waited until the domestics had completed their duty and retired, and as soon as he was alone with his

"It has been a long time, my dear Marie, since I had resolved to open my heart to you entirely, and now a full

"Yes, certainly; but do not let the word alarm you. I fear that I must have appeared in your eyes the most

morose and disagreeable of husbands. Permit me to explain. Since we came here, I have gone about my own

affairs, I have gone out early and returned extremely late, and sometimes three days have elapsed without our

The young Duchess listened to him like a woman who could not believe her ears. Could this be her husband

"I know that, Marie; you have a noble and forgiving nature; but, however, it is impossible, as a woman, that

"So much the better for me. On this I shall not have to find either defence or excuse for my conduct; you

must know, however, that you are ever foremost in my thoughts, even when I am away from you."

He was evidently doing his best to put on an air of tenderness and affection, but he failed; for though his

"Pray, Marie," broke in he, "do not let the word duty be uttered between us. You know that you have been

much alone, because it was impossible for the friends of Mademoiselle de Puymandour to be those of the

"Then, too, our mourning prevents us going out into the world for five months longer at least."

"All the more reason that I should endeavor to make your home less dull for you. I should like you to have

with you some person in whose society you could find pleasure and distraction. Not one of those foolish girls

who have no thought save for balls and dress, but a sensible woman of the world, and, above all, one of your

own age and rank,a woman, in short, of whom you could make a friend. But where can such a one be

found? It is a perilous quest to venture on, and upon such a friend often depends the happiness and misery of

"But," continued he, after a brief pause, "I think that I have discovered the very one that will suit you. I met

her at the house of Madame d'Ailange, who spoke eloquently of her charms of mind and body, and I hope to

"Certainly; there is nothing odd in this. Besides, the lady is no stranger to us; she comes from our own part of

A flush came over his face, and he busied himself with the fire to conceal it as he added,

"I saw very little of her, for my father and hers did not get on very well together. The Marquis de Laurebourg

"Ah, well," interrupted he, "I trust that the daughter will make up for the father's shortcomings. She married

just after our wedding had been celebrated, and her husband is the Count de Mussidan. She will call on you

The silence that followed this speech lasted for nearly a couple of minutes, and became exceedingly

embarrassing, when suddenly the sound of wheels was heard on the gravel of the courtyard, and in a moment

afterwards a servant came and announced that the Countess de Mussidan was in the drawingroom. Norbert

Diana had reflected deeply before she had taken this extraordinarily bold step. In paying a visit so contrary to

all the usual rules of etiquette, she exposed herself to the chance of receiving a severe rebuff. The few

seconds that elapsed while she was still alone in the drawingroom seemed like so many centuries; but the

door was opened, and Norbert and his wife appeared. Then, with a charming smile, Madame de Mussidan

rose and bowed gracefully to the Duchess de Champdoce, making a series of halfjesting apologies for her

intrusion. She had been utterly unable, she said, to resist the pleasure she should experience in seeing an old

country neighbor, the more so as they were now separated by so short a distance. She had, therefore,

disregarded all the rules of etiquette so that they might have a cozy chat about Poitiers, Bevron, Champdoce,

The Duchess listened in silence to this torrent of words, and the expression of her face showed how surprised

she was at this unexpected visit. A less perfectly selfpossessed woman than Diana de Mussidan might have

felt abashed, but the slight annoyance was not to be compared to the prospective advantages that she hoped to

Norbert was moving about the room, half ashamed of the ignoble part that he was playing. As soon as he

thought that the welcome between the two ladies had been partially got over, and imagined that they were

conversing more amicably together, he slipped out of the room, not knowing whether to be pleased or angry

The trick was rather a more difficult one than Diana had, from Norbert's account, anticipated, as she had

thought that she would have been received by the Duchess like some ministering angel sent down to earth to

console an unhappy captive. She had expected to find a simple, guileless woman, who, upon her first visit,

would throw her arms round her visitor's neck and yield herself entirely to her influence. Far, however, from

being dismayed, Diana was rather pleased at this unexpected difficulty, and so fully exerted all her powers of

fascination, that when she took her leave, she believed that she had made a little progress.

"I think that I shall like Madame de Mussidan; she seems an excellent kind of woman."

"Excellent is just the proper word," returned Norbert. "All Bevron was in tears when she was married and had

Norbert was intensely gratified by Diana's success; for was it not for him that she had displayed all her skill,

He was not, however, quite so much pleased when he met Madame de Mussidan the next day in the Champs

"I am very angry with myself for having listened to the voice of my own heart and to your entreaties,"

"If that is the case, then she is indeed a much more clever woman than I had imagined, for she knows how to

Diana spoke with such a serious air of conviction, that Norbert became quite alarmed.

To further his ends, Norbert entirely changed his mode of life. He gave up going to his clubs, refused

invitations to fast suppers, and no longer spent his nights in gambling and drinking. He drove out with his

wife, and frequently spent his evenings with her, and at the club began to be looked on as quite a model

husband. This great change, however, was not effected without many a severe inward struggle. He felt deeply

humiliated at the life of deception that he was forced to lead, but Diana's hand, apparently so slight and frail,

"We must live in this way," said she, in answer to his expostulations, "first, because it must be so; and,

secondly, because it is my will. On our present mode of conduct depends all our future safety, and I wish the

Duchess to believe that with me happiness and content must have come to her fireside."

Norbert could not gainsay this very reasonable proposition on the part of Madame de Mussidan, for he was

more in love than ever, and the terrible fear that if he went in any way contrary to her wishes that she would

refuse to see him any more, stayed the words of objection that rose to his lips.

After hesitating for a little longer, the Duchess made up her mind to accept the offer of friendship which

Diana had so ingenuously offered to her, and finished by giving herself up to the bitterest enemy that she had

in the world. By degrees she had no secrets from her new friend, and one day, after a long and confidential

conversation, she acknowledged to Diana the whole secret of the early love of her girlish days, the memory

of which had never faded from the inmost recesses of her heart, and was rash enough to mention George de

Croisenois by name. Madame de Mussidan was overjoyed at what she considered so signal a victory.

Marie and Diana were now like two sisters, and were almost constantly together; but this intimacy had not

given to Norbert the facile means of meeting Diana which he had so ardently hoped for. Though Madame de

Mussidan visited his house nearly every day, he absolutely saw less of her than he had done before, and

sometimes weeks elapsed without his catching a glimpse of her face. She played her game with such

consummate skill, that Marie was always placed as a barrier between Norbert and herself, as in the farce,

when the lover wishes to embrace his mistress, he finds the wrinkled visage of the duenna offered to his lips.

Sometimes he grew angry, but Diana always had some excellent reason with which to close his mouth.

Sometimes she held up his pretensions to ridicule, and at others assumed a haughty air, which always quelled

"What did you expect of me?" she would say, "and of what base act did you do me the honor to consider me

He was treated exactly like a child, or more cruel still, like a person deficient in intellect, and this he was

thoroughly aware of. He could not meet Madame de Mussidan as he had formerly done, for now in the Bois,

at Longchamps, or at any place of public amusement she was invariably surrounded by a band of fashionable

admirers, among whom George de Croisenois was always to be found. Norbert disliked all these men, but he

had a special antipathy to George de Croisenois, whom he regarded as a supercilious fool; but in this opinion

he was entirely wrong, for the Marquis de Croisenois was looked upon as one of the most talented and witty

men in Parisian society, and in this case the opinion of the world was a wellfounded one. Many men envied

him, but he had no enemies, and his honest and straightforward conduct was beyond all doubt. He had the

"Pray," asked Norbert, "what is it that you can see in this sneering dandy who is always hanging about you?"

Every day she contrived, when with the Duchess, to turn the conversation skilfully upon George de

Croisenois, and she had in a manner accustomed Marie to look certain possibilities straight in the face, from

the very idea of which she would a few months back have recoiled with horror. This point once gained,

Madame de Mussidan believed that the moment had arrived to bring the former lovers together again, and

fancied that one sudden and unexpected encounter would advance matters much more quickly than all her

halfveiled insinuations. One day, therefore, when the Duchess had called on her friend, on entering the

drawingroom, she found it only tenanted by George de Croisenois. An exclamation of astonishment fell

from the lips of both as their eyes met; the cheek of each grew pale. The Duchess, overcome by her feelings,

"Ah," murmured he, scarcely knowing the meaning of the words he uttered, "I had every confidence in you,

"You do not believe the words you have just spoken," returned the Duchess haughtily; "but," she added in

softer accents, "what could I do? I may have been weak in obeying my father, but for all that I have never

Madame de Mussidan, who had stationed herself behind the closed door, caught every word, and a gleam of

diabolical triumph flashed from her eyes. She felt sure that an interview which began in this manner would be

certain to be repeated, and she was not in error. She soon saw that by some tacit understanding the Duchess

and George contrived to meet constantly at her house, and this she carefully abstained from noticing. Things

were working exactly as she desired and she waited, for she could well afford to do so, knowing that the

September had now arrived; and though the weather was very bad, the Duke de Champdoce, accompanied by

his faithful old servant, Jean, left Paris on a visit to his training stables. Having had a serious difference with

Diana, he had made up his mind to try whether a long absence on his part would not have the effect of

reducing her to submission, and at the same time remembering the proverb, that "absence makes the heart

He had already been away two whole days, and was growing extremely anxious at not having heard from

Madame de Mussidan, when one evening, as he was returning from a late inspection of his stud, he was

informed that there was a man waiting to see him. The man was a poor old fellow belonging to the place, who

eked out a wretched subsistence by begging, and executing occasional commissions.

Norbert's sole thought was that this letter must have come from Diana, and throwing the man a coin, hurried

to a spot where it was light enough to read the missive. He did not, however, recognize Diana's firm, bold

"Who the devil can this be from?" thought Norbert, as he tore open the outer covering. The paper within was

soiled and greasy, and the handwriting was of the vilest description, it was full of bad spelling, and ran

"I hardly dare tell you the truth, and yet my conscience will give me no relief until I do so. I can no longer

bear to see a gentleman such as you are deceived by a woman who has no heart or honorable feeling. Your

wife is unfaithful to you, and will soon make you a laughing stock to all. You may trust to this being true, for

I am a respectable woman, and you can easily find out if I am lying to you. Hide yourself this evening, so that

you may command a view of the sidedoor in the wall of your garden, and between halfpast ten and eleven

you will see your wife's lover enter. It is a long time since he has been furnished with a key. The hour for the

meeting has been judiciously fixed, for all the servants will be out; but I implore you not to be violent, for I

Norbert ran through the contents of this infamous anonymous letter in an instant. The blood surged madly

through his brain, and he uttered a howl of fury. His servants ran in to see what was the matter.

"Where is the fellow who brought this letter?" said he. "Run after him and bring him back to me."

In a few minutes the sturdy grooms made their appearance, pushing in the messenger, who seemed

"I am not a thief," exclaimed he. "It was given to me, but I will give it back."

He was alluding to the louis given to him by Norbert, for the largeness of the sum made him think that the

"Keep the money," said the Duke; "I meant it for you; but tell me who gave this letter to you."

"I can't tell you," answered the man. "If I ever saw him before, may my next glass of wine choke me. He got

out of a cab just as I was passing near the bridge, and calling to me, said, 'Look at this letter; at halfpast

seven take it to the Duke de Champdoce, who lives by his stables in the road to the Forest. Do you know the

place?' 'Yes,' I says, and then he slips the letter and a fivefranc piece into my hand, got back into the cab,

"Well, I can hardly say. He wasn't young or old, or short or tall. I recollect he had a gold watchchain on, but

At this moment Norbert's anger was turned against the writer of the letter only, for he did not place the

smallest credence in the accusations against his wife. If he did not love her, he at any rate respected her. "My

wife," said he to himself, "is an honorable and virtuous woman, and it is some discharged menial who has

taken this cowardly mode of revenge." A closer inspection of the letter seemed to show him that the faults in

caligraphy were intentional. The concluding portion of the letter excited his attention, and, calling Jean, he

asked him if it was true that all the servants would be absent from the house today.

"There will be none there this evening; not until late at night," answered the old man.

"Have you forgotten, your Grace, that the first coachman is going to be married, and the Duchess was good

enough to say that all might go to the wedding dinner and ball, as long as some one remained at the porter's

After the first outburst, Norbert affected an air of calmness, and laughed at the idea of having permitted

himself to be disturbed for so trivial a cause. But this was mere pretence, for doubt and suspicion had entered

his soul, and no power on earth could expel them. "Why should not my wife be unfaithful to me?" thought

Norbert. "I give her credit for being honorable and rightminded, but then all deceived husbands have the

same idea. Why should I not take advantage of this information, and judge for myself? But no. I will not

stoop to such an act of baseness. I should be as infamous as the writer of this letter if I was to play the spy, as

she recommends me to do." He glanced round, and perceived that his servants were looking at him with

"Go to your work," said he. "Extinguish the lights, and see that all the doors and windows are carefully

He had made up his mind now, and taking out his watch, saw that it was just eight o'clock. "I have time to

reach Paris," muttered he, "by the appointed time." Then he called Jean to him again. There was no need to

conceal anything from this trusty adherent of the house of Champdoce. "I must start for Paris," said the Duke,

"On account of that letter?" asked the old man with an expression of the deepest sorrow upon his features.

"Have the carriage got ready, and tell the coachman to wait for me in front of the club. I myself will go on

"You must not do that," answered Jean gravely. "The servants may have conceived the same suspicions as I

have. You ought to creep away without any one being a bit the wiser. The other domestics need not even

suppose that you have left the house. I can get you a horse out of the little stables without any one being the

Jean left the room, and as he reached the passage Norbert heard him say to one of the servants, "Put some

Norbert went into his bedroom, put on a great coat and a pair of high boots, and slipped into his pocket a

revolver, the charges of which he had examined with the greatest care. The night was exceedingly dark, a

fine, icy rain was falling, and the roads were very heavy. Norbert found Jean with the horse at the appointed

spot, and as he leaped into the saddle the Duke exclaimed, "Not a soul saw me leave the house."

"Nor I either," returned the attached domestic. "I shall go back and act as if you were at supper. At three in

the morning I will be in the wineshop on the lefthand side of the road. When you return, give a gentle tap

on the windowpane with the handle of your whip." Norbert sprang into the saddle, and sped away through

the darkness like a phantom of the night. Jean had made an excellent choice in the horse he had brought for

his master's use, and the animal made its way rapidly through the mud and rain; but Norbert by this time was

half mad with excitement, and spurred him madly on. As he neared home a new idea crossed his brain.

Suppose it was a practical joke on the part of some of the members of the club? In that case, they would

doubtless be watching for his arrival, and, after talking to him on indifferent subjects, would, when he

betrayed any symptoms of impatience, overwhelm him with ridicule. The fear of this made him cautious.

What should he do with the horse he was riding? The wineshops were open, and perhaps he might pick up

some man there who would take charge of it for him. As he was debating this point, his eyes fell upon a

"I should think so, if it is nothing contrary to the rules and regulations of the army."

"It is only to take my horse and walk him up and down while I pay a visit close by."

"I can stay out of the barracks a couple of hours longer, but no more," returned the soldier.

Norbert told the soldier where he was to wait for him, and then went on rapidly to his own house, and reached

the side street along which ran the garden belonging to his magnificent residence. On the opposite side of the

street the houses all had porticoes, and Norbert took up his position in one of these, and peered out carefully.

He had studied the whole street, which was not a long one, from beginning to end, and was convinced that he

was the only person in it. He made up his mind that he would wait until midnight; and if by that time no one

appeared, he would feel confident that the Duchess was innocent, and return without any one but Jean having

known of his expedition. From his position he could see that three windows on the second floor of his house

were lighted up, and those windows were in his wife's sleeping apartment. "She is the last woman in the

world to permit a lover to visit her," thought he. "No, no; the whole thing is a hoax." He began to think of the

way in which he had treated his wife. Had he nothing to reproach himself with? Ten days after their marriage

he had deserted her entirely; and if during the last few weeks he had paid her any attention, it was because he

was acting in obedience to the whims of another woman. Suppose a lover was with her now, what right had

he to interfere? The law gave him leave, but what did his conscience say? He leaned against the chill stone

until he almost became as cold as it was. It seemed to him at that moment that life and hope were rapidly

drifting away from him. He had lost all count of how long he had been on guard. He pulled out his watch, but

it was too dark to distinguish the hands or the figures on the dialplate. A neighboring clock struck the

halfhour, but this gave him no clue as to the time. He had almost made up his mind to leave, when he heard

the sound of a quick step coming down the street. It was the light, quick step of a sportsman,of a man more

accustomed to the woods and fields than the pavement and asphalt of Paris. Then a shadow fell upon the

opposite wall, and almost immediately disappeared. Then Norbert knew that the door had opened and closed,

and that the man had entered the garden. There could be no doubt upon this point, and yet the Duke would

have given worlds to be able to disbelieve the evidence of his senses. It might be a burglar, but burglars

seldom work alone; or it might be a visitor to one of the servants, but all the servants were absent. He again

raised his eyes to the windows of his wife's room. All of a sudden the light grew brighter; either the lamp had

been turned up, or fresh candles lighted. Yes, it was a candle, for he saw it borne across the room in the

direction of the great staircase, and now he saw that the anonymous letter had spoken the truth, and that he

was on the brink of a discovery. A lover had entered the garden, and the lighted candle was a signal to him.

Norbert shuddered; the blood seemed to course through his veins like streams of molten fire, and the misty

atmosphere that surrounded him appeared to stifle him. He ran across the street, forced the lock, and rushed

The writer of the anonymous communication had only known the secret too well, for the Duchess de

Champdoce was awaiting a visit that evening from George de Croisenois; this was, however, the first time.

Step by step she had yielded, and at length had fallen into the snare laid for her by the treacherous woman

whom she believed to be her truest friend. The evening before this eventful night she had been alone in

Madame de Mussidan's drawingroom with George de Croisenois. She had been impressed by his ardent

"I yield," said she. "Come tomorrow night, at halfpast ten, to the little door in the garden wall; it will only

be kept closed by a stone being placed against it inside; push it, and it will open; and when you have entered

the garden, acquaint me with your presence by clapping yours hands gently once or twice."

Diana had, from a secure hidingplace, overheard these words, and feeling certain that the Duchess would

repent her rash promise, she kept close to her side until George's departure, to give her no chance of

retracting her promise. The next day she was constantly with her victim, and made an excuse for dining with

It was not until she was left alone that the Duchess saw the full extent of her folly and rashness. She was

terrified at the promise that she had given in a weak moment, and would have given worlds had she been able

There was yet, however, one means of safety left hershe could hurry downstairs and secure the garden

gate. She started to her feet, determined to execute her project; but she was too late for the appointed signal

was heard through the chill gloom of the night. Unhappy woman! The light sound of George de Croisenois'

palms striking one upon the other resounded in her ears like the dismal tolling of the funereal bell. She

stooped to light a candle at the fire, but her hand trembled so that she could scarcely effect her object. She felt

sure that George was still in the garden, though she had made no answer to his signal. She had never thought

that he would have had the audacity to open a door that led into the house from the garden, but this is what he

had done. In the most innocent manner imaginable, and so that her listener in no way suspected the special

reason that she had for making this communication, Diana de Mussidan had informed George de Croisenois

that upon this night all the domestics of the Champdoce household would be attending the coachman's

wedding, and that consequently the mansion would be deserted. George knew also that the Duke was away at

his training establishment, and he therefore opened the door, and walked boldly up the main staircase, so that

when the Duchess, with the lighted candle in her hand, came to the top steps she found herself face to face

At the sight of the man she loved she started backwards with a low cry of anguish and despair.

He did not, however, seem to hear her, and the Duchess recoiled slowly, step by step, through the open door

of her chamber, across the carpeted floor, until she reached the opposite wall of her room, and could go no

George followed her, and pushed to the door of the room as he entered it. This brief delay, however, had

sufficed to restore Marie to the full possession of her senses. "If I permit him to speak," thought she,"if he

"You must leave this house, and that instantly. I was mad when I said what I did yesterday. You are too noble

and too generous not to listen to me when I tell you that the moment of infatuation is over, and that all my

reason has returned to me, and my openness will convince you of the truth of what I sayGeorge de

"Yes," continued Marie, "I would give half the years of my remaining life to be your wife. Yes, George, I

love you; but the voice of duty speaks louder than the whispers of the heart. I may die of grief, but there will

But the Marquis would not consent to this immediate dismissal, and appeared to be about to speak.

"Go!" said the Duchess, with an air of command. "Leave me at once!" Then, as he made no effort to obey

her, she went on, "If you really love me, let my honor be as dear to you as your own, and never try to see me

again. The peril we are now in shows how necessary this last determination of mine is. I am the Duchess de

Champdoce, and I will keep the name that has been intrusted to me pure and unsullied, nor will I stoop to

"Why do you use the word deception?" asked he. "I do, it is true, despise the woman who smiles upon the

husband she is betraying, but I respect and honor the woman who risks all to follow the fortunes of the man

"I love you too much, George," answered she gently, "to ruin your future, for the day would surely come

when you would regret all your selfdenial, for a woman weighed down with a sense of her dishonor is a

"You do not trust me," said he. "You would be dishonored. Shall I not share a portion of the world's censure?

And, if you wish me, I will be a dishonored man also. Tonight I will cheat at play at the club, be detected,

and leave the room an outcast from the society of all honorable men for the future. Fly with me to some

He placed his arm around her waist, and was about to press his lips on that fair brow, when all at once he felt

Marie shiver in his clasp, and, raising one of her arms, point towards the door, which had opened silently

during their conversation, and upon the threshold of which stood Norbert de Champdoce, gloomy and

The Marquis saw in an instant the terrible position in which his insensate folly had placed the woman he

A bitter laugh from the Duke made him realize the folly of his command. He supported the Duchess to a

couch, and seated her upon it. She recovered consciousness almost immediately, and, as she opened her eyes,

George read in them the most perfect forgiveness for the man who had ruined her life and hopes.

This look, and the fond assurance conveyed in it, restored all George's coolness and selfpossession, and he

"However compromising appearances may seem, I am the only one deserving punishment; the Duchess has

nothing to reproach herself with in any way; it was without her knowledge, and without any encouragement

from her, that I dared to enter this house, knowing as I did that the servants were all absent."

Norbert, however, still maintained the same gloomy silence. He too had need to collect his thoughts. As he

ascended the stairs he knew that he should find the Duchess with a lover, but he had not calculated upon that

lover being George de Croisenois, a man whom he loathed and detested more than any one that he was in the

habit of meeting in society. When he recognized George, it was with the utmost difficulty that he restrained

himself from springing upon him and endeavoring to strangle him. He had suspected this man of having

gained Diana's affections, and now he found him in the character of the lover of his wife, and he was silent

simply because he had not yet made up his mind what he would say. If his face was outwardly calm and rigid

as marble, while the flames of hell were raging in his heart, it was because his limbs for the moment refused

to obey his will; but, in spite of this, Norbert was, for the time, literally insane.

"I had only just come here at the moment of your arrival. Why were you not here to listen to all that passed

between us? Would to heaven that you had been! Then you would have understood all the grandeur and

nobility of your wife's soul. I admit the magnitude of my fault, but I am at your service, and am prepared to

"From your words," answered Norbert slowly, "I presume that you allude to a duel; that is to say, that having

effected my dishonor tonight, you purpose to kill me tomorrow morning. In the game that you have been

Croisenois bowed. "I am a dead man," thought he as he glanced towards the Duchess, "and not for your sake,

The sound of his own voice excited Norbert, and he went on more rapidly: "What need have I to risk my life

in a duel? I come to my own home, I find you with my wife, I blow out your brains, and the law will

exonerate me." As he said these last words, he drew a revolver from his pocket and levelled it at George. The

moment was an intensely exciting one, but Croisenois did not show any sign of emotion, Norbert did not

"No," returned Norbert coldly; "on reflection I have come to the conclusion that your dead body would be a

"I mean to kill you," answered Norbert in such a voice of concentrated ferocity that George shuddered in

spite of all his courage, "but it shall not be with a pistol shot. It is said that blood will wash out any stain, but

it is false; for even if all yours is shed, it will not remove the stain from my escutcheon. One of us must

vanish from the face of the earth in such a manner that no trace of him may remain."

"I know a method," answered Norbert. "If I was certain that no human being was aware of your presence here

"Then," answered the Duke, "instead of taking advantage of the rights that the law gives me and shooting you

George de Croisenois breathed a sigh of relief. "I am ready," replied he, "as I before told you."

"I heard you; but remember that this will be no ordinary duel, in the light of day, with seconds to regulate the

"In that case, I name swords as the weapons, the garden as the spot, and this instant as the hour."

"You think," observed Norbert, comprehending his look, "that the night is so dark that we cannot see the

"You need not fear; there will be light enough for this death struggle of the one who remains in the garden,

"You are in too great a hurry," said he, "and have not given me time to fix my conditions."

"At the end of the garden there is a small plot of ground, so damp that nothing will grow there, and

consequently is almost unfrequented; but for all that it is thither that you must follow me. We will each take

spade and pickaxe, and in a very brief period we can hollow out a receptacle for the body of the one who

falls. When this work is completed, we will take to our swords and fight to the death, and the one who can

keep his feet shall finish his fallen adversary, drag his body to the hole, and shovel the earth over his

"Have a care then," returned Norbert; "for I shall use my rights. That clock points to five minutes to eleven.

The barrel of the revolver was but a few inches from George de Croisenois' heart, and the finger of his most

inveterate enemy was curved round the trigger; but his feelings had been so highly wrought up that he

thought not of this danger. He only remembered that he had four minutes in which to make up his mind. The

events of the last thirty minutes had pressed upon each other's heels with such surprising alacrity that he

could hardly believe that they had really occurred, and it seemed to him as if it might not, after all, be only a

Croisenois started; his soul was far away from the terrible present. He glanced at the clock, then at his enemy,

and lastly at Marie, who lay upon the couch, and from her ashen complexion might have been regarded as

dead, save for the hysterical sobs which convulsed her frame. He felt that it was impossible to leave her in

such a condition without aid of any kind, but he saw well that any show of pity on his part would only

aggravate his offence. "Heaven have mercy on us!" muttered he. "We are at the mercy of a maniac," and with

a feeling of deadly fear he asked himself what would be the fate of this woman, whom he loved so devotedly,

were he to die. "For her sake," he thought, "I must slay this man, or her life will be one endless existence of

He spoke just in time, for as the words were uttered came the whirr of the machinery and then the first clear

"I thank you," answered Norbert coldly as he lowered the muzzle of his revolver.

The icy frigidity of manner in a period of extreme danger, which is the marked characteristic of a certain type

"But that is not all," he continued; "I, too, have certain conditions to propose."

"Let me explain; we are going to fight in the dark in your garden without seconds. We are to dig a grave and

"But," went on the Marquis, "how can you be certain that all will end here, and that the earth will be content

to retain our secret? You do not know, and you do not seem to care, that if one day the secret will be

disclosed and the survivor accused of being the murderer of the other, arrested, dragged before a tribunal,

"There is such a risk, of course," answered Norbert phlegmatically; "but that will be an incentive for you to

"Ah! take care," sneered Norbert, "or I shall begin to think that you are afraid."

Croisenois, however, was fully determined to carry his point. "You say," continued he, "that our chances are

equal; but if I fall, who would dream of searching here for my remains? You are in your own house and can

take every precaution; but suppose, on the other hand, I kill you. Shall I look to the Duchess to assist me?

Will not the finger of suspicion be pointed at her? Shall she say to her gardener when all Paris is hunting for

you, 'Mind that you do not meddle with the piece of land at the end of the garden.' "

The thought of the anonymous letter crossed Norbert's mind, and he remembered that the writer of it must be

acquainted with the coming of George de Croisenois. "What do you propose then?" asked he.

"Merely that each of us, without stating the grounds of our quarrel, write down the conditions and sign our

The two men, after the conditions had been described, wrote two letters, dated from a foreign country, and

the survivor of the combat was to post his dead adversary's letter, which would not fail to stop any search

"One word in conclusion," said he: "a soldier is leading the horse on which I rode here up and down in the

Place des Invalides. If you kill me, go and take the horse from the man, giving him the twenty francs I

They left the room together. Norbert was stepping aside to permit Croisenois to descend the stairs first, when

he felt his coat gently pulled, and, turning round, saw that the Duchess, too weak to rise to her feet, had

crawled to him on her knees. The unhappy woman had heard everything, and in an almost inaudible voice she

"Mercy, Norbert! Have mercy! I swear to you that I am guiltless. You never loved me, why should you fight

for me. Have pity! Tomorrow, by all that I hold sacred, I swear to you that I will enter a convent, and you

"Pray heaven, madame, that it may be your lover's sword that pierces my heart. It is your only hope, for then

He tore his coat from her fingers with brutal violence, and the unhappy woman fell to the floor with a shriek

Several times in the course of this interview Norbert de Champdoce had been on the point of bursting into a

furious passion, but he restrained himself from a motive of selfpride; but now that his wife was no longer

present, he showed a savage intensity of purpose and a deadly earnestness that was absolutely appalling. As

he followed Croisenois down the great staircase, he kept repeating the words, "Quick! quick! we have lost too

much time already;" for he saw that a mere trifle might upset all his planssuch as a servant returning home

before the others. When they reached the groundfloor, he led George into a byroom which looked like an

"Here," said he, with a bitter sneer, "we can find, I think, what we want"; and placing the candle he carried on

the mantelpiece, he leaped upon the cushioned seat that ran round the room, and took down from the wall

several pairs of duelling swords, and, throwing them upon the floor, exclaimed, "Choose your own weapon."

George was an anxious as Norbert to bring this painful scene to a close, for anything was preferable to this

hideous state of suspense. The last despairing glance of the Duchess had pierced his heart like a dagger thrust,

and when he saw Norbert thrust aside his trembling wife with such brutality, it was all he could do to refrain

from striking him down. He made no choice of weapons, but grasped the nearest, saying,

"We cannot fight in this darkness," said Norbert, "but I have a means to remedy that. Come with me this way,

"Ah, but the neighbors will see it, too; and at this hour a light in the garden is sure to attract attention,"

They entered the garden, and soon reached the spot to which the Duke had alluded. Norbert hung the lantern

on the bough of a tree, and it gave the same amount of light as an ordinary street lamp.

"We will dig the grave in that corner," observed he; "and when it is filled in, we can cover it with that heap of

He threw off his great coat, and, handing a spade to Croisenois, took another himself, repeating firmly the

Croisenois would have toiled all night before he could have completed the task, but the muscles of the Duke

"That will do," said Norbert, exchanging his spade for a sword. "Take your guard."

Croisenois, however, did not immediately obey. Impressible by nature, he felt a cold shiver run through his

frame; the dark night, the flickering lantern, and all these preparations, made in so cold blooded a manner,

"I will speak," exclaimed De Croisenois, driven to desperation. "In a few minutes one of us will be lying dead

on this spot. In the presence of death a man's words are to be relied on. Listen to me. I swear to you, on my

honor and by all my hopes of future salvation, that the Duchess de Champdoce is entirely free from guilt."

"Because it is my duty; because I am thinking that, if I die, it will be my insane passions that have caused the

ruin of one of the best and purest women in the world. I entreat you to believe that she has nothing to repent

of. See, I am not ashamed to descend to entreaty. Let my death, if you kill me, be an expiation for everything.

Be gentle with your wife; and if you survive me, do not make her life one prolonged existence of agony."

"Miserable fool!" said De Croisenois. "On guard, then, and may heaven decide the issue!"

There was a sharp clash as their swords crossed, and the combat began with intense vigor.

The space upon which the rays of the lantern cast a glimmering and uncertain light was but a small one; and

while one of the combatants was in complete shade the other was in the light, and exposed to thrusts which he

could not see. This was fatal to Croisenois, and, as he took a step forward, Norbert made a fierce lunge which

The unfortunate man threw up his arms above his head; his sword escaping from his nerveless fingers and his

knees bending under him, he fell heavily backwards without a word escaping from his lips. Thrice he

endeavored to regain his feet, and thrice he failed in his attempts. He strove to speak, but he could only utter a

few unintelligible words, for his life blood was suffocating him. A violent convulsion shook every limb, then

Yes, he was dead, and Norbert de Champdoce stood over him with a wild look of terror in his eyes, and his

hair bristling upon his head, as a shudder of horror convulsed his body. Then, for the first time, he realized

the horror of seeing a man slain by his own hand; and yet what affected Norbert most was not that he had

killed George de Croisenoisfor he believed that justice was on his side and that he could not have acted

otherwisebut the perspiration stood in thick beads upon his forehead, as he thought that he must raise up

He hesitated and reasoned with himself for some time, going over all the reasons that made dispatch so

He stooped and prepared to raise it, but recoiled again before his hands had touched the body. His heart failed

him, and once more he assumed an erect position. At last he nerved himself, grasped the body, and, with an

immense exertion of strength, hurled it into the gaping grave. It fell with a dull, heavy sound which seemed to

Norbert like the roar of an earthquake. The violent emotions which he had endured had ended by acting on

his brain, and, snatching up the spade which his late antagonist had used with so unpracticed a hand,

shovelled the earth upon the body, flattened down the ground, and finally covered it with straw and dead

"And this is the end of a man who wronged a Champdoce; yes, his life has paid the penalty of his deed."

All at once, a few paces off, in the deep shadow of the trees, he thought that he detected the outline of a

human head with a pair of glittering eyes fixed upon him. The shock was so terrible that for an instant he

stopped and nearly fell, but he quickly recovered himself, and, snatching up his bloodstained sword, he

dashed to the spot where he fancied he had seen this terrible witness of his deed.

At this rapid movement on the part of the Duke, a figure started up with a faint cry for mercy. It was a

She fled with inconceivable swiftness towards the house, but he caught her just as she had gained the steps.

He dragged her back to where the lantern was hanging. She was a girl of about eighteen years of age, ugly,

badly clothed, and dirty looking. Norbert looked earnestly at her, but could not say who she was, though he

"Come," resumed he, in more soothing accents; "you shall not be hurt. Tell me who you are."

"It was not my fault. I was asked, and I did so long to go, but I was too shabby; I had no finery to put on. I am

very poor now, for I have only fifteen francs a month, and none of the other maids would lend me anything to

"I was very miserable, and was sitting in the garden crying, when I suddenly saw a light down there. I

"When I got down here, you and the other were digging. I thought you were looking for money! but ah, dear

me! I was wrong. Then the other began to say something, but I couldn't catch a word; then you fought. Oh, it

was awful! I was so frightened, I could not take my eyes off you. Then the other fell down on his back."

"Listen to me, my girl. If you know how to hold your tongue, if you can forget all you have seen tonight, it

will be the greatest piece of luck for you in the world that you did not go to this wedding."

"I won't open my lips to a soul, my lord duke. Hear me swear, I won't. Oh, do believe me!"

"Very well; keep your oath, and your fortune is made. Tomorrow I will give you a fine, large sum of money,

and you can go back to your village and marry some honest fellow to whom you have taken a fancy."

"No; go to your room and go to bed, as if nothing had happened. Jean will tell you what to do tomorrow,

And Norbert knew that his name, his honor, and perhaps his life were in the hands of a wretched girl like this.

All the peace and happiness of his life were gone, and he felt like some unhappy prisoner who through the

bars of his dungeon sees his jailer's children sporting with lighted matches and a barrel of gunpowder. He was

at her mercy, for well he knew that it would resolve into thisthat the smallest wish of this girl would

become an imperative command that he dared not disobey. However absurd might be her whims and

caprices, she had but to express them, and he dared not resist. What means could he adopt to free himself

from this odious state of servitude? He knew but of one the dead tell no tales. There were four persons

who were the sharer of Norbert's secret. First, the writer of the anonymous letter; then the Duchess; then

Caroline Schimmel; and, finally, Jean, to whom he must confide all. With these thoughts ringing through his

brain, Norbert carefully effaced the last traces of the duel, and then bent his steps towards his wife's chamber.

He had expected to find her still unconscious on the spot where he had left her lying. Marie was seated in an

armchair by the side of the fire; her face was terribly pale, and her eyes sparkling with the inward flame that

"My honor has been vindicated; the Marquis de Croisenois is no more; I have slain your lover, madame."

Marie did not start; she had evidently prepared herself for this blow. Her face assumed a more proud and

disdainful expression, and the light in her dark eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Marie's utter calmness jarred inexpressibly upon Norbert's exasperated frame of mind. He would have given

much to change this mood of hers, which he could not at all understand. But in vain did he say the most

cutting things, and coupled them with bitter taunts, for she had reached a pitch of exaltation far above his

"I am not lying," answered she frigidly. "What should I gain by it? What more have I to gain in this world?

You desire to learn the truth; here it is then: It was with my knowledge and permission that George was here

tonight. He came because I had asked him to do so, and I left the gate in the garden wall open, so as to

facilitate his entrance. He had not been more than five minutes in the room, when you arrived, and he had

never been there before. It would have been easy for me to have left you; but as I bear your name, I could not

dishonor it. As you entered, he was entreating me to fly with him; both his life and his honor were in my

hands. Ah, why did I pause for an instant? Had I consented, he would still have been alive, and in some far

distant country he and I might have learned that this world has something more to offer than unhappiness and

misery. Yes, as you will have it, you shall have all. I loved him ere I knew that you even existed. I have only

my own folly to blame, only my own unhappy weakness to deplore. Why did I not steadily refuse to become

your wife? You say that you have slain George. Not so, for in my heart his memory will ever remain bright

"Ah, would you kill me too? Do not fear resistance; my life is a blank without him. He is dead; let death

come to me; it would be a welcome visitant. The only kindness that you could now bestow upon me would be

my deathblow. Strike then, and end it all! In death we should be united, George and I; and as my limbs grew

stiff and my breath passed away, my whitening lips would murmur words of thanks."

Norbert listened to her, overwhelmed by the intensity of her passion, and marvelling that he had any power to

Could this be Marie, the soft and gentle woman, who spoke with such passionate vehemence and boldly

braved his anger? How could he have so misunderstood her? He forgot all his anger in his admiration. She

seemed to him to have undergone a complete change. There was an unearthly style of beauty around

herher eyes blazed and shone with the lurid light of a fardistant planet, while her wealth of raven hair fell

in disordered masses on her shoulders. It was passion, real passion, that he beheld tonight, not that mere

empty delusion which he had so long followed blindly. Marie was really capable of a deep rooted feeling of

adoration for the man she loved, while with Diana de Mussidan, the woman with her fair hair and the

steelblue eyes, love was but the lust of conquest, or the desire to jeer at a suitor's earnestness. Ah, what a

revelation had been made to him now! And what would he not have given to have wiped out the past! He

He made no reply, but still advanced towards her, when, with a terrible cry, she recoiled from him.

Norbert glanced downwards; upon the wristband of his shirt there was a telltale crimson stain.

"Leave me," said she, with an extraordinary assumption of energy, "leave me; the secret of your crime is safe;

I will not betray you or hand you over to justice. But remember that a murdered man stands between us, and

Rage and jealousy tortured Norbert's soul. Though George de Croisenois was no more, he was still his

"You forget," said he in a voice hoarse with passion, "that you are mine, and that, as your husband, I can

make your existence one long scene of agony and misery. Keep this fact in your memory. Tomorrow, at six

The clock was striking two as he left the house and hastened to the spot where he had left his horse.

"My faith!" said the man, as soon as he perceived Norbert, "you pay precious long visits. I had only leave to

The soldier pocketed the money with an air of delighted surprise, and Norbert sprang into the saddle.

An hour later he gave the appointed signal upon the window pane, behind which the trusty Jean was waiting.

"Take care that no one sees you as you take the horse to the stable," said the Duke hastily, "and then come to

As long as she was in Norbert's presence, anger and indignation gave the Duchess de Champdoce strength;

but as soon as she was left alone her energy gave way, and with an outburst of tears she sank, half fainting,

upon a couch. Her despair was augmented from the fact that she felt that had it not been for her, George de

"Had I not made that fatal appointment," she sobbed, "he would be alive and well now; my love has slain him

She at first thought of seeking refuge with her father, but abandoned the idea almost immediately, for she felt

that he would refuse to enter into her grievance, or would say, "You are a duchess; you have an enormous

In terrible anguish the night passed away; and when her maids entered the room, they found her lying on the

floor, dressed as she had been the night before. No one knew what to do, and messengers were dispatched in

Norbert's return was eagerly welcomed by the terrified domestics, and a general feeling of relief pervaded the

The Duke had grown very uneasy as to what might have happened during his absence. He questioned the

servants as diplomatically as he could; and while he was thus engaged, the doctors who had been summoned

After seeing their patient, they did not for a moment conceal their opinion that the case was a very serious

one, and that it was possible that she might not survive this mysterious seizure. They impressed upon Norbert

the necessity of the Duchess being kept perfectly quiet and never left alone, and then departed, promising to

Their injunctions were unnecessary, for Norbert had established himself by his wife's bedside, resolved not to

quit her until her health was reestablished or death had intervened to release her from suffering. Fever had

claimed her for its own, and in her delusion she uttered many incoherent ravings, the key to which Norbert

This was the second time that Norbert had been compelled to watch over a sickbed, guarding within his

heart a terrible secret. At Champdoce he had sat by his father's side, who could have revealed the terrible

attempt against his life; and now it was his wife that he was keeping a watch on, lest her lips should utter the

Compelled to remain by his wife's side, the thoughts of his past life forced themselves upon him, and he

shuddered to think that, at the age of twentyfive he had only to look back upon scenes of misery and crime,

which cast a cloud of gloom and horror over the rest of his days. What a terrible future to come after so

He had another source of anxiety, and frequently rang the bell to inquire for Jean.

At last Jean made his appearance, and his master led him into a deeplyrecessed window.

"Has left. I gave her twenty thousand francs, and saw her into the train myself. She is going to the States,

where she hopes to find a cousin who will marry her; at least, that is her intention."

Norbert heaved a deep sigh of relief, for the thought of Caroline Schimmel had laid like a heavy burden upon

"I have got hold of a young fellow who believes that I wish to send him to Egypt, to purchase cotton. He will

start tomorrow, and will post the two letters written by the Marquis de Croisenois, one at Marseilles, and the

"I see that any indiscretion on our agent's part, or a mere act of carelessness, may ruin us."

After consulting together, the doctors had given some slight hope, but the position of the patient was still very

precarious. It was suggested that her intellect might be permanently affected; and during all these long and

anxious hours Norbert did not even dare to close his eyes, and it was with feelings of secret terror that he

Upon the fourth day the fever took a favorable turn, and Marie slept, giving Norbert time to review his

How was it that Madame de Mussidan, who was a daily visitor, had not appeared at the house since that

eventful night? He was so much surprised at this that he ventured to dispatch a short note, acquainting her of

"Can you account for M. de Mussidan's sudden determination to spend the winter in Italy? We leave this

And so she, too, had abandoned him, taking with her all the hopes he had in the world. Still, however, his

infatuation held its sway over him, and he forced himself to believe that she felt this separation as keenly as

Some five days afterwards, when the Duchess de Champdoce had been pronounced out of immediate danger,

one of the doctors took him mysteriously aside. He said that he wanted to inform the Duke of a startling, but

he hoped a welcome piece of intelligencethat the Duchess de Champdoce was in the way to present the

It was the knowledge of this that had decided her not to leave her husband's roof, and had steeled her heart

against George's entreaties. She had hesitated, and had almost yielded to the feelings of her heart, when this

Unfortunately for herself, she had not disclosed her condition to her husband, and, at the news, all Norbert's

former suspicions revived, and his wrath rose once more to an extraordinary height. His lips grew pale, and

"Thank you, doctor!" exclaimed he. "Of course, the news is very welcome. Goodby. I must go to the

Instead of going to his wife, Norbert went and locked himself up in his own private apartment. He had need

to be alone, in order to look this fresh complication more fully in the face, and the more he reflected, the

more convinced was he that he had been the dupe of a guilty woman. He had begun by doubting, and he

ended by being convinced that the child was not his. Was he to accept this degraded position, and rear up as

his own the child of George de Croisenois? The child would grow up under his own rooftree, bear his name,

and finally inherit his title and gigantic fortune. "Never," muttered he. "No, never; for sooner than that, I will

The more he thought how he should have to deceive the world by feigning love and lavishing caresses upon

this interloping child, the more he felt that it would be impossible to perform his task. He had, however,

much to do at present. The sudden and mysterious disappearance of George de Croisenois had created much

stir and excitement in Paris, and the letter which had been posed by the agent dispatched by Jean, instead of

explaining matters, had only deepened the mystery and caused fresh grounds of surprise to arise in the minds

of the friends of the Marquis and the police authorities. But the disappearance of the Marquis was only a nine

days' wonder after all. Some other strange event excited the attention of the fickle public, and George de

Diana de Mussidan had now been absent for three months and had not vouchsafed him a single line. A river

of blood flowed between him and his wife. Among all his acquaintances he had not one friend on whom he

could rely, and his reckless life of debauchery and dissipation began to weary him. His thoughts were always

fixed upon this coming child. How could he ever bear to bring it up as if it were his own? He had thought

over many plans, but always trusted to the first one he had conceived. This was to procure an infant, it

mattered not where or by what means, and substitute it for the newborn child of his wife. As time rolled on,

he became more imbued with this idea, and at length he summoned Jean to him, that faithful old man, who

For the first time Jean raised an objection to his master's proposal, declaring that such an act would bring

shame and misery upon all concerned in it; but when he found that Norbert was determined, and that, if he

refused, his master would employ some less scrupulous agent, he, with tears in his eyes and a tremor in his

About a month later, Jean came to his master and suggested that it would be best the /accouchement/ of the

Duchess should take place at a chateau belonging to the Champdoce family near Montroire, and that this once

done, he, Jean would arrange everything. The removal was effected almost at once, and the Duchess, who

was a mere shadow of her former self, made no opposition. She and Norbert lived together as perfect

strangers. Sometimes a week would elapse without their meeting; and if they had occasion to communicate, it

The estate to which Norbert had conducted the Duchess was admirably adapted for his purpose. The unhappy

woman was entirely alone in the world, and had no one to whom she could apply for protection or advice.

Her father, the Count de Puymandour, had died suddenly a month before, owing to chagrin caused by his

defeat when a candidate for a seat in the Chamber. The brief note from the despairing mother, in which

followed the words, "Have mercy! Give me back my child!" hardly describes the terrible events that occurred

The child of the Duchess de Champdoce had been placed by Jean in the Foundling Hospital at Vendome,

while the infant that was baptized with the grandiloquent names of Anne Rene, Gontran de Duepair, Marquis

de Champdoce, was the bastard child of a girl living near Montroire, who was known in the neighborhood as

This was the conclusion of the manuscript handed by Mascarin to Paul Violaine, and the young man laid

He had consumed six hours in reading this sad account of the follies and crimes of the owners of illustrious

Mascarin had listened with the complacency of an author who hears his own work read aloud to him, but all

the while he was keenly watching him beneath his spectacles and the faces of his companions. The effect that

was produced was immense, and exactly what he had anticipated. Paul, Hortebise, and Catenac gazed upon

each other with faces in which astonishment at the strange recital, and then at the power of the man who had

collected these facts together, were mingled, and Catenac was the first who spoke. The sound of his own

voice seemed gradually to dispel the vague sense of apprehension that hung about the office.

"Aha!" cried he, "I always said that our old friend Mascarin would make his mark in literature. As soon as his

pen touches the paper the business man vanishes; we have no longer a collection of dry facts and proofs, but

"Catenac," remarked Mascarin in his bitterly sarcastic tone, "is best able to pronounce upon the truth or

falsehood of this narrative, as he is the professional adviser of this same Duke de Champdoce, the very

"I do not deny that there is some slight foundation to it," returned the lawyer.

"Nothing, nothing; I merely objected, more in jest than otherwise, to the sentimental manner in which you

"Catenac," remarked Mascarin, addressing the others, "has received many confidential communications from

his noble client, which he has not thought fit to communicate to us; and though he fancied that we were

drifting into quicksands and among breakers, he displayed no signal of warning to save us from our danger,

Catenac began to utter protestations and denials, but Mascarin cut him short with an imperative gesture, and,

"You must understand that my inquisitors have had but little to do in this affair, for my work has chiefly

consisted in putting fragments together. It is not to me that you are indebted for the sensational (I think that

that was the term used) part of my story, but rather to Madame de Mussidan and Norbert de Champdoce. I am

"Perhaps," broke in Mascarin, "you have forgotten the correspondence which the Countess de Mussidan

preserved so carefullyboth his letters and her own, which Norbert returned to her."

"Of course we have, only there is a perfect romance contained in these letters. What I have read is a mere

bald extract from them; and this is not all. The man who assisted me in the unravelling of this dark intrigue

"Certainly, and you know him. He is not quite in his first youth, and has aged somewhat, but his intellect is as

"I can tell you even more. I can tell you that the account of the deed was written under the dictation of

Caroline Schimmel," broke in Mascarin. "This unlucky woman started for Havre, intending to sail for the

United States, but she got no further than that seaport town, for the good looks and the persuasive tongue of a

sailor induced her to alter her plans. As long as her money lasted he remained an ardent lover, but vanished

with the disappearance of her last thousandfranc note. Starving and povertystricken, Caroline returned to

Paris and to the Duke de Champdoce, who accepted her constant demands for money as a penitent expiation

of his crime. But she remained faithful to her oath; and had it not been for her terrible propensity for drink,

Tantaine would never have succeeded in extracting her secret from her. If, on her recovery from her fit of

drunk coma, she recollects what has taken place, she will, if I read her character right, go straight to the Duke

At this idea being promulgated, Catenac started from his chair with a loud oath.

"Did you think," asked Mascarin, "that I should feel so much at my ease if I found that there was the slightest

risk? Let us consider what it is that Caroline can say. Who is it that she can accuse of having stolen her secret

from her? Why, only a poor old wretch named Tantaine. How can the Duke possibly trace any connection

"Besides," pursued Mascarin, "what have we to fear from the Duke de Champdoce? Nothing, as far as I can

see. Is he not as much in our power as the woman he formerly lovedDiana de Mussidan? Do we not hold

the letters of both of them, and do we not know in what corner of his garden to dig to discover a damning

piece of evidence? Remember that there will be no difficulty in identifying the skeleton, for at the time of his

disappearance, Croisenois had about him several Spanish doubloons, a fact which was given to the police."

"Well," said Catenac, "I will act faithfully. Tell me your plans, and I will let you know all that I hear from the

For a moment a smile hovered upon Mascarin's lips, for this time he placed firm reliance upon the good faith

"Before we go further," said he, "let me conclude this narrative which Paul has just read. It is sad and simple.

The united ages of the Duke and Duchess did not exceed fifty years; they had unlimited wealth, and bore one

of the grandest historic names of France; they were surrounded with every appliance of luxury, and yet their

lives were a perfect wreck. They simply dragged on an existence and had lost all hopes of happiness, but they

made up their minds to conceal the skeleton of their house in the darkest cupboard, and the world knew

nothing of their inner life. The Duchess suffered much in health, and merely went out to visit the sick and

poor. The Duke worked hard to make up for the deficiencies of his early education, and made a name and

"I am coming to that," returned Mascarin. "With that strange determination that fills the hearts of our women,

she did not consider her revenge complete until Norbert learned that she was the sole instrument in heaping

the crowing sorrow of his life on his head; and on her return from Italy, she sent for him and told him

everything. Yes, she absolutely had the audacity to tell him that it was she who had done her best to throw his

wife into De Croisenois' arms. She told him that it was she who had worked the arrangements for the

"Why did he not kill her?" cried Hortebise. "Had she not all his letters, and taunted him with the production

of them? Ah, my dear friends, do not let us flatter ourselves that we have the sole monopoly of blackmailing.

The highborn Countess plunged her hand into the Duke's coffers just as if she had been a mere adventuress.

It is only ten days ago that she borrowedyou will observe the entry of it as a loana large sum to settle an

account of Van Klopen's. But let us now speak of the child who took the place of the boy whom the Duchess

"He was, but he was a degraded scoundrel, after all. He was educated and brought up without regard to

expense, but he always displayed low tastes, and, had he lived, would have brought discredit on the name he

bore. He was a thorn in the side of the Duke and Duchess, and I believe that they felt great relief when he

died of brain fever, brought on by a drunken debauch. His parents, or those whom he supposed to be such,

were present at his deathbed, for they had learned to consider their sorrows as the just chastisement of

heaven. The boy having died, the family of Champdoce seemed likely to become extinct, and then it was that

Norbert decided to do what his wife had long urged upon him, to seek for and reclaim the child which he had

caused to be placed in the Foundling Hospital at Vendome. It went against his pride to diverge from the

course he had determined on as best, but doubts had arisen in his mind as to his wife's guilt, and Diana's

confessions had reassured him as to the paternity of the missing boy. It was thus with hope in his heart, and

furnished with every necessary document, that he started for Vendome; but there a terrible disappointment

awaited him. The authorities of the hospital, on consulting the register, found that a child had been admitted

on the day and hour mentioned by Norbert, and that his description of the infant's clothing tallied exactly with

the entries. But the child was no longer in the hospital, and there was no clue to his whereabouts. He had, at

the age of twelve, been apprenticed to a tanner, but he had run away from his master, and the most active and

Catenac listened to all these exact details with an unpleasant feeling gnawing at his heart, for he saw that his

associates knew everything, and he had relied upon again securing their confidence by furnishing them with

those details which were evidently already known to them. Mascarin, however, affected not to notice his

"This terrible disappointment will certainly kill the Duke de Champdoce. It seemed to him that after having

so bitterly expiated the crimes and follies of his youth, he might hope to have his old age in peace and quiet,

with a son who might cheer the loneliness of his desolate fireside. His countenance, as soon as he appeared

before the Duchess, who had been expecting his return in an agony of anguish and suspense, told her at once

that all hope had fled. In a few days, however, the Duke had perfectly recovered from the shock, and had

decided that to give up the search would be an act of madness. The world is wide, and a friendless boy,

without a name, difficult to trace; but, with ample funds, almost anything can be done, and he was willing to

sacrifice both life and fortune to attain his object. So immense were his resources, that it was easy for him to

employ the most skilful detectives; and whatever the result might be, he had come to look upon this task as a

sacred duty to which he ought to devote all the remaining years of his life. He swore that he would never rest

or cease from his search until he had been furnished with the indisputable proofs of the existence or the death

of his son. He did not confide all this project to the Duchess; for he fearedand he had by this time learned

to have some consideration for her enfeebled frameher health had given way so completely that any extra

degree of excitement might prove fatal to her. He, therefore, as a preliminary, applied to that element which

in the Rue de Jerusalem acts as the terrestrial guardians of society. But the police could do nothing for the

Duke. They heard what he had to say gravely, took notes, told him to call again later on, and there was an end

to their proceedings. It can easily be understood that the rank and position of the Duke prevented him from

making his name known in his inquiries; and as he dared not divulge the whole truth, he gave such a bald

version of the case, that it excited no deep feelings of interest. At last he was sent to a certain M. Lecoq."

To Paul's utter astonishment, the name produced a sudden and terrible effect upon Doctor Hortebise, who

started to his feet as if propelled from his chair by the unexpected application of some hidden motive power,

and, fingering the locket that hung from his chain, gazed round upon his associates with wild and excited

"Stop!" cried he. "If that fellow Lecoq is to put his nose into your case, I withdraw; I will have nothing to do

"Yes, yes," said he, "I can understand your alarm; but be at ease; Lecoq has nothing to do with us."

But Hortebise was not satisfied with Catenac's assurance, and looked for confirmation from Mascarin.

"Lecoq has nothing to do with us," repeated his friend. "The fool said that his position prevented him from

giving his time to any investigation of a private nature, which, by the way, is quite true. The Duke offered

him a heavy sum to throw up his appointment, but he refused, saying he did not work for money, but from

"However," continued Mascarin, "to cut short my narrative, the Duke, on the refusal of Lecoq to act, applied

"Yes," answered the lawyer, "and the Duke has placed the conduct of the search in my hands."

"Not at present. The Duke said, 'Ask every living soul in the world, if you can succeed in no other way'; this

is all the instruction he has given me; and," added he, with a slight shrug of his shoulders, "I am almost of

"He only said that he believed he should succeed if he were to take it in hand."

"Well," answered Mascarin coldly, "I have been certain of success from the very commencement."

"Never mind, I have been somewhere, and at this very moment could place my hand upon the shoulder of the

"I was never more in earnest in my life. I have found him; only as it is impossible for me to appear in the

matter, I shall delegate to you and Perpignan the happiness of restoring the lost son to his father's arms."

Catenac glanced from Mascarin to Hortebise, and from them to Paul, and seemed to wish to be certain that he

"And why do you not wish to appear in the matter?" asked he at last, in a suspicious tone of voice. "Do you

"First," said he, "I am not a traitor, as you know well enough; and then the interests of all of us depend on

your safety. Can one of us be compromised without endangering his associates? You know that this is

impossible. All you have to do is to point out where the traces commence; others will follow them at their

"That is enough. We require no more argument, I am the master, and it is for you to obey."

When Mascarin adopted this tone, resistance was out of the question; and as he invariably made all yield to

him, it was best to obey with a good grace, and Catenac relapsed into silence, completely subjugated and very

"Sit down at my desk," continued Mascarin, "and take careful notes of what I now say. Success is, as I have

told you, inevitable, but I must be ably backed. All now depends upon your exactitude in obeying my orders;

one false step may ruin us all. You have heard this, and cannot say that you are not fully warned."

Catenac seated himself at the writingtable without a word, concealing his anger and jealousy beneath a

careless smile. Mascarin was no longer the plotter consulting with his confederates; he was the master issuing

his orders to his subordinates. He had now taken from a box some of those square pieces of pasteboard,

"Try and not miss one word of what I am saying," remarked he, bending his keen glance upon Paul; then,

turning to Catenac, he continued, "Can you persuade the Duke de Champdoce and Perpignan to start for

"Upon the day of your arrival at Vendome," continued Mascarin, "you could do very little. Your time would

be taken up in resting after your journey, and perhaps you may make a few preliminary inquiries. It will be on

Sunday that you will go to the hospital together, and make the same inquires which the Duke formerly made

by himself. The lady superior is a woman of excellent taste and education, and she will do all that she can to

be useful to you. Through her you will be able to obtain the boy's description, and the date on which he left

the hospital to be apprenticed to a tanner. She will tell you that, disliking the employment, he ran away from

them at the age of twelve and a half years, and that since then no trace of him has been found. You will hear

from her that he was a tall, wellbuilt lad, looking two years older than he really was, with an intelligent cast

of feature, and keen, bright eyes, full of health and good looks. He had on, on the day of his disappearance,

blue and white striped trousers, a gray blouse, a cap with no peak, and a spotted silk cravat. Then to assist you

still further in your researches she will add that he carried in a bundle, enveloped in a red plaid cotton

handkerchief, a white blouse, a pair of gray cloth trousers, and a pair of new shoes."

Catenac watched Mascarin as he was speaking with an expression of ill concealed enmity.

"I think I am," returned Mascarin. "After this you will go back to the hotel, and not until thendo you

understand?and you will consult as to the first steps to be taken. The plan proposed by Perpignan is an

"Of course I do. He proposed to divide Vendome and its suburbs into a certain number of circles, and to make

a housetohouse visitation in each of them. Let him go to work in this manner. Of course, to do so, you will

"Here, Catenac, I must leave a little to chance, for I am not quite omnipotent. But there are nine chances out

of ten that your host will advise you to avail yourself of the services of a man called Frejot, who acts as

commissioner to the hotel. It may be, however, that he may designate some one else; but in that case you

"He understands what he is to do completely. Well, these preliminaries being settled, you will commence on

Monday morning to search the suburb called Areines, under the guidance of Frejot. Leave all the

responsibility to Perpignan, but make sure that the Duke comes with you. Ask the denizens a series of

questions which you have prepared beforehand, such as 'My friends, we are in search of a boy. A reward of

ten thousand francs is offered to any one who will put us on his track. He must have left these parts in

"All Monday," continued Mascarin, "you will not make much progress, and for the next few days it will be

the same, but on Saturday prepare yourself for a great surprise; for on that day Frejot will take you to a large,

lonely farmhouse, on the shores of a lake. This farm is held by a man named Lorgelin, who cultivates it with

the assistance of his wife and his two sons. You will find these worthy people at dinner. They will offer you

some refreshment, and you will accept. At the next word you utter you will find that they will glance at each

other in a meaning manner, and the wife will exclaim, 'Blessed Virgin! Surely the gentleman is speaking of

As Mascarin went on describing his arrangements, his whole form seemed to dilate, and his face shone with

the knowledge of mastery and power. His voice was so clear and his manner so full of authority and

command, that it carried conviction to the minds of all those who were seated listening to him. He spoke of

what would happen as if he was dealing with an absolute certainty, and went on with such wonderful lucidity

"Oh! the farmer's wife will say this, will she?" demanded Catenac, in a tone of the utmost surprise.

"Yes, this, and nothing more. Then the husband will explain that they found the poor lad half dead in a ditch

by the side of the road, and that they took him home, and did what they could for him; and will add, this was

in the beginning of September, 1856. You will offer to read him your description of the lad, but he will

volunteer his own, which you will find exactly to tally with the one you have. Then Lorgelin will tell you

what an excellent lad he was, and how the farm seemed quite another place as long as he remained there. All

the family will join in singing his praiseshe was so goodtempered, so obliging, and at thirteen he could

write like a lawyer's clerk. And then they will produce some of his writing in an old copy book. But after all

the old woman, with a tear in her eye, will say that she found the lad had not much gratitude in his

composition, for at the end of the following September he left the farm where he had received so much

kindness. Yes, he left them to go away with some strolling performers. You will be absolutely affected by the

words of these worthy people, and before you leave they will show you the clothes the lad left behind him."

Catenac was waiting for the conclusion, and then exclaimed, in rather a disappointed tone,

"But I do not see what we have gained when Lorgelin's story has been repeated to us."

Mascarin raised his hand, as though to deprecate immediate criticism, and to ask for further patience on the

"Permit me to go on," said he. "You would now not know what to do, but Perpignan will not hesitate for a

moment. He will tell you that he holds the end of the clue, and that all that remains to be done is to follow it

"Not a bit; each man to his own line of business. Besides, if he wanders off the course, you must get him back

to it. In this you must act diplomatically. His first move will naturally be to take you to the office of the

mayor of the township, where a register of licenses is kept. There you will find that in September, 1857, there

passed through the place a troupe of travelling performers, consisting of nine persons, with the caravans,

Catenac rapidly jotted down these items. "Not so fast," said he; "I cannot follow you."

"An attentive examination of the book will prove to you that no other troupe of itinerant performers passed

through the place during that month; and it is clear that it must have been the Grasshopper with whom the lad

went away. You will then peruse the man's description. Vigoureux, born at Bourgogne, Vosges. Age,

fortyseven. Height, six feet two inches. Eyes, small and gray, rather nearsighted. Complexion dark. Third

finger of left hand cut off at first joint. If you confound him, after reading this, with any other man of his

"But that is Perpignan's business. You will see him put on an air of the greatest importance, and appear quite

overjoyed at the news he has obtained at the office of the mayor. He will say that the inquiry at Vendome is

over, and that it will be best to return to Paris at once. Of course, you will make no objection. You will permit

the Duke to make a handsome present to Lorgelin and Frejot; but take care not to leave him behind you. I

advise you to regain Paris without a moment's delay. The wily Perpignan, on your return, will at once take

you to the head police office, where Vigoureux will have left his papers, like other men of his profession. If

there is any difficulty in obtaining a sight of them, the Duke de Champdoce will act as a talisman. You will

then discover that in 1864, the man Vigoureux was sentenced to a term of imprisonment for disorderly

"When you go there, you will recognize Vigoureux by the loss of his finger. He will at once admit that the lad

followed him, and remained in the troupe for ten months. He was a good enough lad, but as grand as a

peacock, and as lazy as a dormouse. He made great friends with an old Alsatian, called Fritz, who was the

conductor of the orchestra, and byandby both were so fond of each other, that one day they went off in

each other's company. Now you want to know what has become of Fritz? I know Vigoureux will get tired of

this prolonged string of questions, and behave violently; then you will threaten him for having carried off a

youth of tender years, and he will calm down, and become as mild as mother's milk, and will promise to gain

information for you. In a week he will give the information that Fritz is to be found at the Hospital Magloire."

Absolutely dumb with surprise, the audience listened to these strange assertions, which dovetailed so exactly

"Fritz," continued Mascarin, "is a sly old dog. You will find an old, rickety, blueeyed man at the hospital,

and remember to tell the Duke de Champdoce that he must not put too much faith in him. This wily old

Alsatian will tell you of all the sacrifices he made for the dear lad. He will tell you that he often went without

his beer and tobacco in order to pay for the music lessons that he forced the boy to take. He will tell you that

he wanted to get him into the Government School of Music, for that he possessed great vocal and

instrumental talent, and he cherished the hope of one day seeing him a great composer, like Weber or Mozart.

I expect that this flow of selfpraise will melt the heart of your client, for he will see that his son had made an

effort to rise out of the mire by his own exertions, and will, in this energy, recognize one of the characteristics

of the Champdoce family; and on the strength of this testimony he will almost be ready to accept the young

Catenac had for some time past been striving to decipher the meaning hidden behind the inscrutable

"Let us get on," said the lawyer impatiently. "All that you have told me I shall hear later on in the course of

"If your sagacity requires no further explanation from me," rejoined Mascarin, "you will, I trust, permit me to

continue them for the benefit of our young friend, Paul Violaine. You will feel compassion when the Alsatian

tells you of his sufferings, at the boys' description of him, and his subsequent prosperity in the Rue d'Arras.

You had better listen to the old man as long as he continues to grumble on, the more so as you will detect in

the rancor and bitterness of his remarks all the vexation of a disappointed speculator. He will confess to you

besides that he subsists entirely on the bounty of the lad, whom he had stigmatized as an ungrateful villain.

Of course, the Duke will have to leave behind him some testimonial of his pleasure, and you will hurry off to

the Rue d'Arras. The proprietor of the house will tell you that some four years ago he got rid of his musician,

the only one of his class who had dared to establish himself there, and a small present and a few adroit

questions will obtain for you the address of one of the young man's pupils, Madame Grandorge, a widow

lady, residing in the Rue St. Louis. This lady will tell you that she does not know the address of her former

master, but that he used to live at 57, Rue de la Harpe. From the Rue de la Harpe you will be sent to the Rue

Jacob, and from thence to the Rue Montmartre, at the corner of the Rue Joquelet."

Mascarin paused, drew a long breath, and chuckled inwardly, as though at some excellent joke.

"Be comforted, Catenac," said he. "You have nearly reached the end of your journey. The portress at the

house in the Rue Montmartre is the most obliging woman in the world. She will tell you that the musician

still retains his rooms in the house, but that he resides there no longer, for he has made a lucky hit, and last

month he married the daughter of a wealthy banker living close by. The young lady, Mademoiselle Rigal,

A clever man like Catenac should have foreseen what was coming, but he had not, and at this conclusion he

"Yes, just so," said Mascarin, with an air of bland triumph. "The Duke de Champdoce will then drag you off

to our mutual friend Martin Rigal, and there you will find our young /prot�g�/, the happy husband of the

"Now, my dear Catenac, show the liberality and amiability of your disposition by congratulating our friend

Hortebise, of course, knew what was coming; he knew the lines of the plot of the play as if he had been a

joint author of it, and was as much excited as if he were assisting at a first rehearsal.

"Bravo!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Bravo, my dear Mascarin, you have excelled yourself

Worried and perplexed as Paul had been, as Mascarin concluded he sank back in his chair, sick and giddy

"Yes," said Mascarin in a clear and ringing voice, "I accept your praise without any affectation of false

modesty. We have no reason to fear the intervention of that grain of sand which sometimes stops the working

of the machine. Perpignan, poor fool though he is, will be our best friend, and will do our work quite

unconsciously. Can the Duke retain any atom of suspicion after these minute investigations? Impossible. But

to remove the slightest element of doubt, I have another and an additional plan. I will make him retrace the

path upon which he has started. He shall take Paul to all these various places, and at all of them the

statements will be even more fully confirmed. Paul, the soninlaw of Martin Rigal, the husband of Flavia,

will be recognized in the Rue Montmartre, the Rue Jacob, and the Rue de la Harpe. He will be joyfully

welcomed in the Rue d'Arras; Fritz will embrace his ungrateful pupil; Vigoureux will remind him of his

skillful feats on the trapeze; the Lorgelin family will press the lad whom they gave shelter to, to their hearts,

and this will happen, Catenac, because I will it, and because all the people from the portress in the Rue

Montmartre to the Lorgelins are my slaves, and dare not disobey one single command which I may issue."

"I recognize your patience and ingenuity thoroughly, only I am going with one word to crush the fabric of

Catenac might be a coward, he might also be a traitor but he was a clever and clearsighted man too.

Consequently Hortebise shivered as he heard these words, but Mascarin smiled disdainfully, basking in his

"And why not, pray?" asked Mascarin. "But are you sure that I wish to deceive him? You have not been open

with me, why should I be frank with you? Am I in the habit of confiding in those who do not repose

confidence in me? Does Perpignan for a moment suspect the part that he is to play? Why may I not have

judged it best to keep from you the fact that Paul is really the child you are seeking?"

Mascarin spoke so confidently that Catenac gazed upon him, hardly knowing to what conclusion to come, for

his conscience was by no means clear. His intellect quickly dived into the depths of all probabilities, and yet

"I only hope," said he, "that Paul is all that you represent him to be; but why all these precautions? Only,

mark my words, the Duke has an infallible way of detecting, or rather of preventing, any attempt at

imposition. It is ever thus, the most trivial circumstance will overset the best laid plans, and the inevitable

What was the meaning of this? Catenac felt that he was being played with, and grew angry.

"As you please; but you will, I presume, permit me to convince myself of the truth of this assertion."

Scarcely had the young man obeyed, and the lawyer cast a rapid glance at the bare flesh, than he turned to his

To his extreme surprise, Mascarin and Hortebise burst into a fit of unrestrained laughter.

"No," pursued the lawyer, "this is not the child who was sent to the Hospital of Vendome, and the Duke will

recognize this better than I can. You laugh, but it is because you do not know all."

"Enough," returned Mascarin, and then, turning to the doctor, he remarked, "Tell him, my friends, that we

"And so," said Hortebise, taking Paul's hand, "you are certain that this is not the lost child because he has not

certain marks about him; but these will be seen upon the day on which Paul is introduced to the Duke, and

"Let me explain in my own way. If in early childhood Paul had been scalded on his shoulder by boiling

"Well, then listen. Paul is coming home with me. I shall take him into my consultingroom; he will lie on a

couch. I shall give him chloroform, for I do not wish him to suffer any pain. Mascarin will help me. Then I

shall apply, on the proper part, a piece of flannel steeped in a certain liquid which is an invention of my own.

I am not a fool, as you may have discovered before this; and in a drawer at home is a piece of flannel cut so

as exactly to resemble the irregular outline of a scar of the kind you describe, and a few little bits here and

there will do the rest of the work artistically. When the liquid has effected its work, which will be in ten

minutes, I shall remove it, and apply an ointment, another invention of my own, to the wound; then I shall

"But you forget that a certain space of time is required to give a scar the appearance of not having been

"Let me speak," broke in the doctor. "If we only needed timesix months, say, or a yearwe should

postpone our concluding act until then; but I, Hortebise, assure you that in two months, thanks to another

discovery of my ownwill show you a scar that will pass muster, not perhaps before a fellowpractitioner,

"May the devil fly away with all scruples!" cried he. "My friends, I am yours soul and body; you may rely on

"Of course we share and share alike," observed the lawyer. "It is true that I come in rather late; but the part I

"One word more," said the lawyer. "Do you think that the Duke has kept nothing back? The infant was hardly

seen by him or the Duchess; but Jean saw it, and he, though very old and infirm, would come forward at any

"Jean, you know, was against the substitution of another child. May he not have foreseen the chance of such a

Mascarin looked grave. "I have thought of that before," returned he; "but what can be done?"

"I will find out," said Catenac. "Jean has the most implicit confidence in me, and I will question him."

The cold calmness of the lawyer had vanished, and Catenac only displayed the zealous eagerness of the man

who, admitted at a late hour into an enterprise which he imagines will be lucrative, burns to do as much as he

"But," added he, as an afterthought, "how can we be certain that there is no one to recognize Paul?"

"I can answer for that; his poverty had isolated him from all but a woman named Rose, and I took care that

she should be sent to the prison of St. Lazare. At one time I was a little anxious, as I heard that Paul had a

patron; but he, as I have found out, was the Count de Mussidan, the murderer of Montlouis, who, as you may

"Nothing; and while you get on with your work, I will hurry on Paul's marriage with Rigal's daughter. But

this will not prevent my busying myself in another quarter; for before a month Henri de Croisenois will have

"I think that it is about time for dinner," remarked Hortebise, and, turning to the /prot�g�/ of the association,

But Paul made no movement, and then for the first time it was seen that the poor boy had fainted, and they

"Surely," remarked the doctor, "it is not the idea of a trifling operation that you will not feel which has so

"Let us hear all!" cried Mascarin, who was the first to come to his senses. "Explain yourself."

"Simply this. I know such a young man, and it was the thought of this that made me feel so ill. He is

thirtythree. He was at the Foundling Hospital; he left it at the age of twelve and a half years; and he has just

such a scald on his shoulder, which he got when he was apprenticed to a tanner."

"And where," asked Mascarin quickly, "is this same young man? What is his name, and what does he do for a

A blasphemous oath from Mascarin interrupted him. "This is the third time," said he fiercely, "that this cursed

"I shall do nothing," answered he; "but you know that this Andre, in addition to being a painter, is an

ornamental sculptor and house decorator, and so is often on lofty scaffolds. Have you never heard that

When Mascarin spoke of suppressing the man who stood in his way as easily as if he was alluding to

extinguishing a candle, he was not aware that there was one circumstance which considerably enhanced the

difficulty of his task, for Andre had been forewarned, and this note of warning had been sounded on the day

on which he had received that letter from Sabine, in which she spoke in such despairing terms of her

approaching marriage, which she had been compelled to agree to to save the honor of her family. This feeling

was strengthened by a long conversation he had had with M. de BreulhFaverlay and the Viscountess de Bois

Arden, in which it was unanimously decided that the Count and Countess de Mussidan were victims of some

plot of which Henri de Croisenois was certainly one of the promoters. He had no conception on what side to

look for the danger, but he had an instinctive feeling that it was impending. He prepared, therefore, to act on

the defensive. It was not only his life that was in danger, but his love and his future happiness. M. de

BreulhFaverlay had also serious apprehensions for the safety of a man for whom he entertained so great a

"I would lay a heavy wager," said he, "that we have to do with some villainous blackmailers, and the

difficulty of the business is, that we must do the work ourselves, for we dare not invite the aid of the police.

We have no proof to offer, and the police will not stir a foot on mere suppositions, and we should not earn the

thanks of those we are desirous of assisting if we called the attention of the law to certain acts in their past

lives; for who can say what the terrible secret is, that some vile wretch holds over the heads of M. and

Madame de Mussidan? And it is quite on the cards that the Count and the Countess might be compelled to

join the blackmailers and oppose us. We must act with the greatest prudence and caution. Remember, that if

you are out at night, you must avoid dark corners, for it would be the easiest thing in the world to put a knife

The conclusion that was arrived at, at this interview, was that for the present Andre and De Breulh should

cease to see each other so frequently. They felt convinced that a watch had been set on them, and that their

intimacy would certainly be notified to De Croisenois; and of course they had every desire to cause him to

imagine that they were not acting in any way together. The arrangement, therefore, that they entered into was

that each should act from his own point of vantage against Henri de Croisenois, and that when necessary they

should meet in the evening to compare notes in a small /caf�/ in the Champs Elysees, not far from the house

His courage was still as high as ever, but the first symptoms of rashness had vanished. He was a born

diplomatist, and fully realized that cunning and treachery must be met by similar weapons. He must not break

his engagement to M. Gandelu; but how could he superintend the workmen and keep an eye on Croisenois at

the same time? Money was absolutely necessary, and yet he felt a strange disinclination to accept a loan from

M. de Breulh. If he were to throw up his work, it would naturally create suspicion.

M. Gandelu had a shrewd head, and Andre, remembering the old man's kindness to him on all occasions,

determined to confide the matter to him, and with this object he called on him the next morning as the clock

was striking nine. His surprise was extreme when he saw Gaston de Gandelu in the courtyard. He was just the

same looking Gaston, the lover of Madame de Chantemille, to the outward eye, but some grave calamity had

evidently entirely changed the inner man. He was smoking his cigar with an air of desperation, and seemed to

"Halloo!" said he; "here is my artistic friend. I lay ten to one that you have come to ask my father to do you a

Noticing that one of the grooms was listening, Gaston had sufficient sense to draw Andre a little on one side.

"Do you know," asked he, "that the governor has docked my screw and vows that he will advertise himself as

not responsible for the debts of yours truly; but I cannot think he will do so, for that would be a regular

smashup for me. You haven't such a trifle as ten thousand francs about you that you could lend me, have

"All right; never mind; I understand. If you had the ready, you wouldn't be hanging about here; but for all

that, I must have the cash. Hang it all, I signed bills to that amount payable to Verminet. Do you know the

"Where were you dragged up? Why, he is the head of the Mutual Loan Society. The only nuisance is, that to

"Not a bit, for I always intended to pay; besides, I wanted the money to square Van Klopen. You know /him/,

"Well, he is the chap to dress a girl. I had those costumes for Zora from him; but it is out and out the

governor's fault. Why did he drive me to desperation? Yes, it is all the old man's doing. He wasn't satisfied

with pitching into me, but he collared that poor, helpless lamb and shut her up. She never did him any harm,

"That's it; but I don't like any one to call her by that ugly, common name. Well, the governor has gone mad

about her, and filed a complaint against her of decoying a minor, as if I was a fellow any one could decoy.

"Poor Zora," he added; "I was never mashed on a woman like I was on her. And then what a splendid form

she has! Why, the hairdresser said he had never seen such hair in his life; and she is at St. Lazare. As soon as

the police came for her, her first thoughts were of me, and she shrieked out, 'Poor Gaston will kill himself

when he hears of this.' The cook told me this, and added that her mistress's sufferings were terrible. And she

is at St. Lazare. I tried to see her, but it was no go"; and here the boy's voice broke into a sob.

"Ah! you shall see if, as soon as I am twentyone, I don't marry her. I don't put all the blame on the old man.

He has been advised by his lawyer, a beast by the name of Catenac. Do you know /him/?"

"You don't seem to know any one. Well, I shall send him a challenge tomorrow. I have got my seconds all

ready. By the way, would you like to act for me? I can easily get rid of one of the others."

"Ah, then you would be of no use. My seconds must put him into a regular blue funk."

"No; I know what you are going to say: you mean that I had best look out for a military swell; but, after all,

the matter lies in a nutshell. I am the insulted party, and draw pistols at ten paces. If that frightens him, he

Had his mind not been so much occupied, this rhodomontade on Gaston's part would have amused Andre

very much, but now he asked himself what would be the quickest way to escape from him.

"Sir," said he, addressing Andre, "my master has seen you from his window, and begs that you will go up to

"I will be with him immediately," answered Andre; and, holding out his hand to Gaston, he took leave of him

When Andre had got rid of the young man, and had been ushered into M. Gandelu's presence, the change in

the gentleman's appearance struck him with horror. His eyes were red and swollen as if he had been weeping,

but as soon as he caught sight of Andre his face brightened, and he welcomed him warmly.

"Oh, it does me good to see you, and I bless the fortunate chance that has brought you here today."

"It is not a very fortunate chance," answered Andre, as he shook his head sadly.

For the first time Gandelu noticed the air of gravity which marked the young man, and the shade of sorrow

"I am your friend, my dear boy," said the old man, "and would gladly be of service to you. Tell me if I can be

"And you thought of the old man, then? I thank you for doing so. Give me your hand; I like to feel the grasp

"It is the secret of my life that I am going to confide to you," said he, with some solemnity.

M. Gandelu made no reply, but struck his clenched fist upon his breast, as though to show that any secret

Then Andre hesitated no longer, and, with the exception of giving names, told the whole story of his love, his

"Allow me," said Andre, "to hand over the work with which you have intrusted me to one of my friends. I

will retain the responsibility, but will merely act as one of the workmen. This, to a certain extent, will give

me my liberty, while at the same time I shall be earning a little money, which is just now of vast importance

Gandelu rose hastily, and, opening an iron safe which stood in one corner of the room, and taking from it a

bundle of banknotes, he placed them on the table before Andre with an expressive look, which meant, "Take

The unlookedfor kindness of this man, who forgot all his own sorrows in his anxiety to relieve the

With a wave of his hand Gandelu inspired silence. "Take these twenty thousand francs," said he, "and then I

A refusal would have wounded the old man deeply, and so Andre took the proffered loan.

"My dear boy," said he, in a voice broken by emotion, "a day or two back you saw something of the trouble

that I am laboring under. I have no longer any respect or esteem for that wretched fool, my son, Pierre."

Andre had already guessed that he had been incensed with reference to something connected with Gaston.

"My son is old in vice," replied he. "I have thought the matter over only too plainly. Yesterday he declared

that he would kill himself. An absurd threat. Up to this time I have been culpably weak, and it is no use now

to act in an opposite direction. The unhappy boy is infatuated with a degraded woman named Rose, and I

have had her locked up; but I have made up my mind to let her out again, and also to pay his debts. It is weak

folly, I allow; but what am I to do? I am his father after all; and while I cannot respect her, I must love him.

"I have not deceived myself; my son is ruined. I can but stand by and wait for the end. If this Rose is not

everything that is bad, her influence may be of some use to him. But I want some one to undertake these

Andre felt that all his efforts ought to be devoted to the interests of Sabine, but at the same time he could not

leave the kind old man to the mercy of others, and by a display of absolute heroism he determined to accede

to the brokenhearted father's desires and briefly told him that he was at his service. Gandelu thanked him

warmly, and Andre seating himself at the table, the two men entered into a long discussion as to the best

means to be adopted. It was finally decided that Andre should act with freedom and according to his own

instincts, and that M. Gandelu should, to actual appearance, remain firm in the course he had entered upon,

and should only be induced, by Andre's intercession, to adopt milder measures. The result justified their

anticipations, for Gaston was even more crushed and downcast than Andre had imagined, and it was in an

agony of suspense that he awaited the return of the young painter. As soon as he saw him descending the

"Your father," returned Andre, "is terribly angry with you, but I hope to be able to induce him to do

"Perhaps he will; but first he must have something more from you than promiseshe must have stable

At these words Gaston's face fell. "Guarantees," answered he sulkily. "Is not my word of honor enough?

"That I cannot tell you, and you must find out for yourself; but I will do all I can for you."

"Do you mean to tell me," asked he, "that you can do pretty well what you like with the governor?"

"Not exactly; but surely you can see that I have a good deal of influence over him. If you want a proof of this,

"I suppose so. I am speaking of those to which you were mad enough to forge another man's name."

Foolish as the boy was, this act of his had caused him many a sleepless night, and he had reflected very often

Andre shook his head, however. "Forgive me," said he, "but this money does not quit my hand until the bills

are handed over to me. Your father's orders on this point are decided; but the sooner we settle the affair the

"That is too bad; the governor is as sly as a fox; but he must have his own way, I suppose, so come on. Only

just wait till I slip on a coat more suitable to my position than this lounging suit."

He rushed away, and was back again in ten minutes as neat as a new pin, and full of gayety and good spirits.

"We can walk," said he, putting his arm through Andre's. "We have to go to the Rue St. Anne."

Verminet had his office in this streetthe office of the Mutual Loan Society, of which he was the managing

director. The house, in spite of its grandiloquent title, was of excessively shabby exterior. The Mutual Loan

Society was frequented by those who, having lost their credit, wished to obtain a fresh amount, and who,

Verminet's plan of financial operations was perfectly simple. A tradesman on the verge of bankruptcy would

come to him, Verminet would look into his case and make him sign bills for the sum he required, handing

him in exchange bills drawn by other tradesman in quite as serious a predicament as himself, and pocketed a

commission of two per cent. upon both the transactions. Verminet obtained clients from the simple fact that

an embarrassed tradesman is utterly reckless, cares not what he signs, and will clutch at a straw to keep his

head above water. But there were many other transactions carried on at the office of the Mutual Loan Society,

for its largest means of income was drawn from even less respectable sources, and it was alleged that many of

these bogus bills which are occasionally cashed by some respectable bankers were manufactured there. At

Andre, who was gifted with plenty of intelligence, at once judged of the kind of business done by the Mutual

Loan Society by the dinginess of the brass plate on the door and the generally dilapidated aspect of the house.

"It does not go in for show," answered Gaston, affecting an air of wisdom, "but it is deemed handy

sometimes. It does all sorts of business that you would never think of. A real downy card is Verminet."

Andre could easily believe this, for, of course, there could be but one opinion concerning the character of a

man who could have induced a mere simpleton like Gaston to affix a forged signature to the bills which he

had discounted. He made no remark, however, but entered the house, with the interior arrangements of which

Gaston appeared to be perfectly familiar. They passed through a dirty, illsmelling passage, went across a

courtyard, cold and damp as a cell, and ascended a flight of stairs with a grimy balustrade. On the second

floor Gaston made a halt before a door upon which several names were painted. They passed through into a

large and lofty room. The paper on the walls of this delectable chamber was torn and spotted, and a light

railing ran along it, behind which sat two or three clerks, whose chief occupation appeared to be consuming

the breakfast which they had brought with them to the office. The heat of the stove, which was burning in one

corner of the room, the general mouldiness of the atmosphere, and the smell of the coarse food, were

"Engaged," replied one of the clerks, without pausing to empty his mouth before he replied.

"Don't you talk to me like that. What do I care whether he is engaged or not? Tell him that Gaston de

The clerk was evidently impressed by his visitor's manner, and, taking the card which was handed to him,

Gaston was delighted at this first victory, and glanced at Andre with a triumphant smile.

The clerk came back almost at once. "M. Verminet," cried he, "has a client with him just now. He begs that

you will excuse him for a few minutes, when he will see you"; and evidently anxious to be civil to the

gorgeously attired youths before him, he added, "My master is just now engaged with M. de Croisenois."

"Aha," cried Gaston; "I will lay you ten to one that the dear Marquis will be delighted to see me."

Andre started on hearing this name, and his cheek crimsoned. The man whom he most hated in this world; the

wretch who, by his possession of some compromising secret, was forcing Sabine into a detested marriage; the

villain whom he, M. de Breulh, and Madame de Bois Arden had sworn to overreach, was within a few paces

of him, and that now he should see him face to face. Their eyes would meet, and he would hear the tones of

the scoundrel's voice. His rage and agitation were so intense that it was with the utmost difficulty that he

concealed it. Luckily for him, Gaston was not paying the slightest attention to his companion; for having, at

the clerk's invitation, taken a chair, he assumed an imposing attitude, which struck the shabby young man

"I suppose," said he, in a loud voice, "that you know my dear friend, the Marquis?"

"Really," said he, "you know /no/ one, as I told you before. Where have you lived? But you must have heard

of him? Henri de Croisenois is one of my most intimate friends. He owes me over fifty louis that I won of

Andre was now certain that he had estimated Verminet's character correctly, and the relations of the Marquis

de Croisenois with this very equivocal personage assumed a meaning of great significance to him. He felt

now that he had gained a clue, a beacon blazed out before him, and he saw his way more clearly into the

difficult windings of this labyrinth of iniquity which he knew that he must penetrate before he gained the

He felt like a child playing the game called "Magic Music," when, as the seeker nears the hiding place of the

article of which he is in search, the strains of the piano swell higher and higher. He now found that the boy

whose master he had become, knew, or said he knew, a good deal of this marquis. Why should he not gain

"I should rather think I was," returned Gandelu the younger. "You will see that precious sharp. I know all

about him, and who the girl is that he is ruining himself for, but I mustn't talk about that; mum's the word,

Henri de Croisenois was attired in the most fashionable manner, and formed an utter contrast to the flashy

dress of Gaston. He was smoking a cigar, and mechanically tapping his boots with an elegant walking cane.

In a moment the features and figure of the Viscount were indelibly photographed upon Andre's brain. He

particularly noticed his eyes, which had in them a halfconcealed look of terror, and his face bore the haunted

expression of a person who expects some terrible blow to fall upon him at any moment.

At a little distance the Marquis still seemed young, but a closer inspection showed that the man looked even

older than he really was, so worn and haggard were his mouth and eyes. Nights at the gaming table and the

anxiety as to where the fresh supplies should come from to furnish the means to prolong his life of

debauchery had told heavily upon him. Today, however, he seemed to be in the best temper imaginable, and

in the most cheerful manner he addressed a few words to Verminet, in conclusion of the conversation that had

"It is settled then," remarked he, "that I am to have nothing more to do with a business with which neither of

"Very well, then; but remember that any mistake you may make in the other affair will be attended with the

This caution seemed to suggest some new idea to Verminet, for he said something in a low voice to his client

Gaston was fidgeting about, very uneasy at the Marquis having paid no attention to him, and he now

advanced with a magnificent salutation and a friendly wave of the hand. If the Marquis was charmed at

meeting Gandelu, he concealed his delight in a most wonderful manner. He seemed surprised, but not

agreeably so; he bent his head, and he extended his gloved hand with a negligent, "Ah, pleased to see you."

Then without taking any more notice of Gaston, he turned on his heel and continued his conversation with

"The worst part is over," said he, "and therefore no time is to be lost. You must see Mascarin and Martin

At these words Andre started. Were these people Croisenois' accomplices? Certainly he had accomplices on

the brain just now, and their names remained deeply engraved on the tablets of his memory.

"Tantaine was here this morning," observed Verminet, "and told me that his master wanted to see me at four

this afternoon. Van Klopen will be there also. Shall I say a word to him about your fine friend?"

" 'Pon my soul," remarked the Marquis, shrugging his shoulders, "I had nearly forgotten her. There will be a

tremendous fuss made, for she will be wanting all sorts of things. Speak to Van Klopen certainly, but do not

"Quite so; I understand," answered Verminet; "but keep things quiet, and do not have any open disturbances."

"Of course not. Good morning," and with a bow to the managing director and a nod to Gaston, he lunged out

of the office, not condescending to take the slightest notice of Andre. Verminet invited Andre and Gaston into

his sanctum, and, taking a seat, motioned to them to do the same. Verminet was a decided contrast to his

office, which was shabby and dirty, for his dress did his tailor credit, and he appeared to be clean. He was

neither old nor young, and carried his years well. He was fresh and plump, wore his whiskers and hair cut in

the English fashion, while his sunken eyes had no more expression in them than those of a fish.

"No matter; I have the money with me, and I will pay it on you handing over the bills to me."

Gaston could scarcely credit his ears, nor believe in the truth of this last statement, and was certainly upset,

"But," stammered he, "you promised, when I signed those bills, that they should never go out of your hands."

"I don't say I did not; but one can't always keep to one's promise. I was forced to part with them. I wanted

Andre was not at all surprised, for he had anticipated some such difficulty; and seeing that Gaston had

"Excuse me, sir," remarked he; "but it seems to me that there are certain circumstances in this case which

"Who have I the honor of speaking to?" asked he, instead of making a direct reply.

"I am a friend of M. de Gandelu's," returned Andre, thinking it best not to give any name.

"Can't you see?" whispered Gaston. "I had ten because I wanted the other five for Zora."

"Oh, indeed," returned Andre, with a slight uplifting of his eyebrows. "Well, then, M. Verminet, it was five

thousand francs that you lent to my young friend here. That was right enough; but what do you say to

"I! I do such a thing?" answered Verminet. "Why, I did not know that the signature was not genuine."

"This is too much, a deuced deal too much," cried he. "Did you not yourself tell me that, for your own

security, you must insist upon another name in addition to mine? Did you not give me a letter, and say, 'Write

a signature like the one at the bottom of this, it is that of Martin Rigal, the banker in the Rue Montmartre'?"

"An utterly false accusation, without a shadow of proof; and remember that a libel uttered in the presence of a

"And yet, sir," continued Andre, "you did not hesitate for a moment in discounting these bills. Have you

calculated what terrible results may come of this breach of faith on your part?what will happen if this

"Very unlikely. Gandelu is the drawer, Rigal merely the endorser. Bills, when due, are always presented to

Evidently a trap had been laid for Gaston, but the reason was still buried in obscurity.

"Then," remarked Andre, "we have but one course to pursue: we must trace those notes to the hands in which

"But to enable us to do so, you must first let us know the name of the party who discounted them."

"I don't know; I have forgotten," answered Verminet, with a careless wave of his hand.

"Then," returned Andre, in a low, deep voice of concentrated fury, "let me advise you, for your own sake, to

"And if you do not succeed in remembering the name or names, the consequences may be more serious than

Verminet saw that the young painter was in dangerous earnest, and rose from his chair, but Andre was too

"No," said he, placing his back against the door; "you will not leave this room until you have done what I

For fully ten minutes the men stood gazing at each other. Verminet was green with terror, while Andre's face,

"If the scoundrel makes any resistance," said he to himself, "I will fling him out of the window."

"The man is a perfect athlete," thought Verminet, "and looks as if he would stick at nothing."

Seeing that he had better give in, the managing director took up a bulky ledger, and began to turn over the

"Bills for five thousand francs. Gandelu and Rigal, booked for discount to Van Klopen, ladies' tailor."

Why was it that Verminet had suggested Rigal's signature as the one he ought to imitate? And why had he

handed the bills over to Van Klopen? Was it mere chance that had arranged it all? He did not believe it, but

felt sure that some secret tie united them all together, Verminet, Van Klopen, Rigal, and the Marquis de

"Never mind, he will have to tell me where they are, if he has not got them," returned Andre.

They left the house, and as soon as they were again in the street Andre took his companion's arm, and hurried

"I don't want to give this thief, Verminet, time to warn Van Klopen of what has taken place; I had rather fall

upon him with the suddenness of an earthquake. Come, let us go to his establishment at once."

Had Andre known a little more of the man he had to deal with, he would have learned that no one could fall

like an earthquake upon Van Klopen. Shut up in the sanctum where he composed the numberless costumes

that were the wonder and delight of Paris, Van Klopen made as careful arrangements to secure himself from

the interview as the Turk does to guard the approaches to his seraglio; and so Andre and Gandelu were

accosted in the entrance hall by his stately footmen, clad in gorgeous liveries, glittering with gold.

Entreaties, threats, and even a bribe of one hundred francs were alike useless; and Andre, seeing that he was

about to be checkmated, was half tempted to take the men by the collar and hurl them on one side, but he

calmed himself, and, already repenting of his violence at Verminet's, he determined on a course of

submission, and so meekly followed the footmen into the famous waitingroom, styled by Van Klopen his

purgatory. The footmen, however, had spoken the truth, for several ladies of the highest rank and standing

were awaiting the return of this /arbiter elegantiarum/. All of them turned as the young men enteredall save

one, who was gazing out of the window, drawing with her pretty fingers on the window panes. Andre

"Is it possible?" thought he. "Can the Countess have returned here after what has occurred?"

Gaston felt that five charming pairs of eyes were fixed upon him, and studied to assume his most graceful

"I wish that she would look round," said he to himself. "I think she would feel rather ashamed. I will say a

He rose from his chair, and, without thinking how terribly he might compromise the lady, he took up a

position at her side. She was, however, intently watching something that was going on in the street, and did

She started, and, as she turned and recognized Andre, she uttered a little cry of surprise.

"And here? I dare say that my presence in this place surprises you," she went on, "and that I have a short

Andre made no reply, and his silence was a sufficient rejoinder to the question.

"You do me a great injustice," muttered the Countess. "I am here because De Breulh told me that in your

interests I ought to pardon Van Klopen, and go to him again as I used to do; so you see, M. Andre, that it is

The lady interrupted him by a little wave of her hand, invisible to all save to him, which clearly said,

She once more turned her eyes towards the street, and he mechanically did the same. By this means their

"De Breulh," went on the lady, "has heard a good deal about De Croisenois, and, as no doubt you can guess,

but very little to his credit, and quite enough to justify any father in refusing him his daughter's hand; but in

this case it is evident to me that De Mussidan is yielding to a secret pressure. We must ferret out some hidden

"But remember there is no time to be lost. According to our agreement, I treat him in the most charming

manner, and he thinks that I am entirely devoted to his interests, and tomorrow I have arranged to introduce

him to the Count and Countess at the Hotel de Mussidan, where the Count and Countess have agreed to

"I saw," continued the lady, "that you were quite right in the opinion you had formed, for in the first place the

common danger has almost reconciled the Count and Countess affectionately to each other, though it is

notorious that they have always lived in the most unhappy manner. Their faces are careworn and full of

anxiety, and they watch every movement of Sabine with eager eyes. I think that they look upon her as a

"Her conduct is perfectly sublime, and she is ready to consummate the sacrifice without a murmur. Her

selfsacrificing devotion is perfectly admirable; but what is more admirable still is the way in which she

conceals the suffering that she endures from her parents. Noble hearted girl! she is calm and silent, but she

has always been so. She has grown thinner, and perhaps her cheek is a trifle paler, but her forehead was

burning and seemed to scorch my lips as I kissed her. With this exception, however, there was nothing else

about her that would betray her tortures. Modeste, her maid, told me, moreover, that when night came she

seemed utterly worn out, and the poor girl, with tears in her eyes, declared 'that her dear mistress was killing

A door suddenly opened, and Andre and the Viscountess turned hastily at the sound. It was Van Klopen who

When, however, he saw Gaston, his face grew white, and it was with a smile that he stepped towards him,

motioning back the lady whose turn it was, and who protested loudly against this injustice.

"Ah, M. de Gandelu," said he, "you have come, I suppose, to bespeak some fresh toilettes for that exquisite

Andre, however, who had arranged the narrative that he was about to pour into the ears of the famous Van

"We have come here," said he hurriedly, "upon a matter of some moment. My friend, M. Gaston de Gandelu,

is about to leave Paris for some months, and, before doing so, is anxious to settle all outstanding accounts,

"Have I any bills of M. de Gandelu?" said Van Klopen slowly. "Ah, yes, I remember that I had some now.

Yes, five bills of one thousand francs each, drawn by Gandelu, and accepted by Martin Rigal. I received them

Van Klopen was a clever scoundrel, but he sometimes lacked the necessary perception of when he had said

enough; and this was proved today, for, agitated by the steady gaze that Andre kept upon him, he added,

"If you do not believe my word, I can show you the acknowledgment that I received from that firm."

"No, thank you," replied Andre, not for a moment duped by the game that was being played. "Pray take no

more trouble. We shall, I presume, find that the bills are at St. Etienne. There is no use in taking any more

trouble about them, and we will wait until they arrive at maturity. I have the honor to wish you good

And with these words he dragged away Gaston, who was actually about to consult Van Klopen as to the most

becoming costume for Zora to appear in on leaving the prison of St. Lazare. When they were a few doors

from the manmilliner's, Andre stopped and wrote down the names of Van Klopen's cloth merchants. Gaston

"I think," remarked he, "that Van Klopen is a sharp fellow; he knows that I am to be relied on."

The perfect innocence of the boy elicited from Andre a gesture of impatient commiseration.

"Listen to me," said he, "and see if you can comprehend the awful position in which you have placed

"You drew these bills through Verminet because Van Klopen would not give you credit."

"How, then, do you account for the fact that this man, who was at first disinclined to trust you, should without

"The deuce! That never struck me. It does seem queer. Does he want to play me a nasty trick? But which of

"It is plain to me that the pair of them have entered into a pleasant little plot to blackmail you."

"Blackmail me, indeed! why, I know my way about better than that. They won't get much out of me, I can tell

"Then," said he, "just tell me what you intend to say to Verminet when he comes to you upon the day your

bills fall due, and says to you, 'Give me one hundred thousand francs for these five little bits of paper, or I go

"You could say nothing, except that you had been imposed on in the most infamous way. You would plead

for time, and Verminet would give it to you if you would execute a deed insuring him one hundred thousand

"A hundred thousand devils are all the rogue would get from me. That's the way I do things, do you see? If

people try and ride roughshod over me, I merely hit out, and then just look out for broken bones. Pay this

chap? Not I! I know the governor would make an almighty shine, but I'll choose that sooner than be had like

He was quite serious but could only put his feelings into the language he usually spoke.

"I think," answered Andre, "that your father would forgive this imprudence, but that it will be even harder for

him to do so than it was to send a doctor to number the hours he had to live. He will forgive you because he is

your father, and because he loves you; but Verminet, when he finds that the threat to go to your father does

"Hulloo!" said Gandelu, stopping short. "I say, that is very poor fun," gasped he.

"There is no fun in it, for such fun, when brought to the notice of a court of justice, goes by the ugly name of

"Tried and sentenced," faltered he. "No, I don't believe you, but I hold no honors and will turn up my cards."

He quite forgot that he was in the public street, and was talking at the top of his shrill falsetto voice, and

"The poor old governor, I might have made him so happy, and, after all, I have only been a torment to him.

Ah, could I but begin once more; but then the cards are dealt, and I must go on with the game, and I have

made a nice muddle of the whole thing before I am twenty years of age; but no criminal courts for me, no, the

easiest way out of it is a pistol shot, for I am an honest man's son, and I will not bring more disgrace on him

"Then we will not despair yet," answered the young painter. "I think that we shall be able to settle this ugly

business, but you cannot be too cautious. Keep indoors, and remember that I may have urgent need of you at

"Don't fret over that; I will call and see her tomorrow. And now, farewell for today, as I have not an instant

Andre's reason for haste was that he had caught a few words addressed by Verminet to Croisenois"I shall

see Mascarin at four o'clock." And he determined to loiter about the Rue St. Anne, and watch the Managing

Director when he came out, and so find out who this Mascarin was, who he was certain was mixed up in the

plot. He darted down the Rue de Grammont like an arrow from a bow, and as the clock in a neighboring

belfry chimed halfpast three, he was in the Rue St. Anne. There was a small wineshop almost opposite to

the office of the Mutual Loan Society, and there Andre ensconced himself and made a frugal meal, while he

was waiting for Verminet's appearance, and just as he had finished his light refreshment he saw the man he

wanted come out of the office, and crept cautiously after him like a Red Indian on the trail of his enemy.

As Verminet swaggered down the street he had the air of a successful man, of a capitalist, in short, and the

Managing Director of a highly lucrative concern. Andre had no difficulty in following his man, though

detective's business was quite new to him, which is no such easy matter, although every one thinks that he

can become one. Andre kept his man in sight, and was astonished at the numerous acquaintances that

Verminet seemed to have. Occasionally he said to himself, "Perhaps I am mistaken after all, for fancy is a bad

pair of spectacles to see through. This man may be honest, and I have let my imagination lead me astray."

Meanwhile, Verminet who had reached the Boulevard Poisonniere, assumed a totally different air, throwing

off his old manner as he cast away his cigar. When he had reached the Rue Montorgueil he turned underneath

a large archway. Verminet had gone into the office of M. B. Mascarin, and that person simply kept a

Servants' Registry Office for domestics of both sexes. In spite of his surprise, however, he determined to wait

for Verminet to come out; and, not to give himself the air of loitering about the place, he crossed the road and

appeared to be interested in watching three workmen who were engaged in fixing the revolving shutters to a

new shop window. Luckily for the young painter he had not to wait a very long while, for in less than a

quarter of an hour Verminet came out, accompanied by two men. The one was tall and thin, and wore a pair

of spectacles with colored glasses, while the other was stout and ruddy, with the unmistakable air of a man of

the world about him. Andre would have given the twenty thousand francs which he still had in his pocket if

he could have heard a single word of their conversation. He was moving skilfully forward so as to place

himself within earshot, when not two feet from him he heard a shrill whistle twice repeated. There was

something so strange and curious in the sound of this whistle that Andre looked round and noticed that the

three men whom he was watching had been also attracted by it. The tall man with the colored glasses glanced

suspiciously around him, and then after a nod to his companions turned and reentered the office, while

Verminet and the other walked away arm in arm. Andre was undecided; should he try and discover who these

two men were? Near the entrance he saw a lad selling hot chestnuts. "Ah!" said he, "the little chestnut seller

will always be there; but I may lose the others if I stay here." He followed the two men as quickly as possible.

They did not go very far, and speedily entered a fine house in the Rue Montmartre. Here Andre was for a

moment puzzled, as he did not know to whom they were paying a visit, but noticing an inscription on the wall

He questioned a man coming downstairs and heard that M. Martin Rigal, the banker, had his offices and

"I have struck a vein of good luck today," thought he; "and now if my little friend the chestnut seller can

only tell me the names of these men, I have done a good day's work. I /do/ hope that he has not gone."

The boy was still there, and he had two customers standing by the chafingdish which contained the glowing

charcoal, and a working lad in cap and blouse was arguing so hotly with the lad that they did not notice

"You can stow that chat," said the boy; "I have told your father the price I would take. You want my station

"Then he don't need give nothing, for he won't get 'em," answered the chestnut vender sharply. "Two hundred

francs for a pitch like this! Why, I have sometimes taken ten francs and more, and that ain't a lie, on the word

Andre was tickled with this strange designation, and addressed himself to the lad who bore it.

"My good boy," said he, "I think you were here an hour ago. Did you see anything of three gentlemen who

The lad turned sharply round and examined his questioner from tip to toe with an air of the most supreme

Andre had had some little experience of this delightful class of street arab, of which Toto Chupin was so

"Come, my chicken," said he, "spit it out, it won't blister your tongue, to answer a man who asks a civil

"Why, that I should like to have their names if they have such an article belonging to 'em!"

Toto raised his cap and scratched his head, as if to stimulate his brains, and as he brushed up his thick head of

"And suppose I know the blokes' names and tells 'em out to you, what will you stand?" asked he.

The delightful youth puffed out his cheeks, then expelled the pentup wind by a sudden slap, as a mark of his

"Pull up your braces, my lord," said he sarcastically, "or you'll be losing the contents of your breeches

"Did you think, my little man, that I was going to offer you twenty thousand shiners?" asked he.

"Won again!" cried Toto; "I laid myself a new hat that you weren't a fool, and I have collared the stakes."

"Because a fool would have begun by offering me five francs and gone up slick to ten, while you began at a

"But you were too old a bird to be caught like that," continued the lad; and as he spoke, he stopped, and

contracted his brow as if in deep perplexity. Of course he was acquainted with the names, but ought he to

give them? Instantly he scented an enemy. Harmless people did not usually ask questions of itinerant chestnut

venders, and to open his mouth might be to injure Mascarin, Beaumarchef, or the guileless Tantaine.

"Keep your ten sous, my pippin," said the boy; "I'll tell you what you want to know all gratis and for nothing,

because I've taken a real fancy to the cut of your mug. The tall chap was Mascarin, the fat un Doctor

Hortebise, and t'otherstop, let me think it out in my knowledge box; ah! I have it, he was Verminet."

Andre was so delighted that, drawing from his pocket a fivefranc piece, he tossed it to the boy.

"Thanks, my noble lord," said Chupin, and was about to add something more in a similar vein, when he

glanced down the street. His look changed in an instant, and he fixed his eyes upon the painter's face with a

"Nothing," answered Chupin; "nothing at all; only as you seem a decentish sort of chap, I should recommend

"I meanwhybe careful, of course. Hang me if I exactly know what I do mean. It is just an idea that came

With much difficulty Andre repressed his astonishment. He saw that this young scamp was the possessor of

many secrets which might be of inestimable value to him; but he also saw that he was determined to hold his

tongue, and that it would at present be a waste of time to try and get anything out of him; and an empty cab

passing at this moment, Andre hailed it, and told the coachman to drive fast to the Champs Elysees. In

obedience to the warning that he had just received from Toto, he did not give the name of the /caf�/ where he

was to meet De Breulh, for he made up his mind to be careful, yes, extremely careful. He recollected the two

odd whistles which had seemed to make Mascarin wince, and which certainly broke off the conference of the

three men, and he remembered that it was after a glance down the street that Toto had become less

communicative and had given him that curt warning. "By heaven," said he, as the recollection of a story he

had read not long ago dawned on him, "I am being followed." He lowered the front glass of the cab, and

"Listen to me," said he, as the man turned, "and do not slacken your speed. Here, take your five francs in

"Listen to me. Go as sharp as you can to the Rue de Matignon; turn down it, and, as you do, go a bit slower;

then drive on like lightning, and when you are in the Champs Elysees do what you like, for your cab will be

"Aha," said he; "I see you are being followed, and you want to give 'em leg bail."

"Then listen to me. Take care when you jump, and don't do it on the pavement, for t'other is the safest."

Andre succeeded in alighting safely, and turned down a narrow court before his pursuer had entered the

street; but it was vain for the young painter to lurk in a doorway, for after five minutes had elapsed there was

More than a quarter of an hour had elapsed, and Andre felt that he might leave his hidingplace, and go in

quest of De Breulh; and as he approached the spot chosen for their meetingplace, he saw his friend's

carriage, and near it was the owner, smoking a cigar. The two men caught sight of each other almost at the

"Never mind," returned he; "I know that you must have had some excellent reasons; but, to tell you the

"Do you not recollect what I said the other evening? De Croisenois is a doubledyed scoundrel."

Andre remained silent, and his friend, putting his arm affectionately through his, continued,

"Let us walk," said he; "it is better than sitting down in the /caf�/. I believe De Croisenois capable of

anything. He had the prospect before him of a large fortune,that of his brother George; but this he has

"But I do. I am, however, a little relieved by the fact that he has never seen you."

"But I am sure that I have been followed today. I have no actual proof, but still I am fully convinced that it

"You are certainly being watched," answered De Breulh, "and every step that you take will be known to your

As he spoke he glanced uneasily around; but it was quite dark, and he could see no one.

"We will give the spies a little gentle exercise," said he, "and if we dine together they will find it hard to

De Breulh's coachman was dozing on the drivingseat. His master aroused him, and whispered some order in

his ear. The two young men then got in, and the carriage started at a quick pace.

"What do you think of this expedient?" asked De Breulh. "We shall go at this pace for the next hour. We will

then alight at the corner of the Chaussee d'Autin, and be free for the rest of the night, and those who wish to

All came to pass as De Breulh had arranged; but as he jumped out he saw a dark form slip from behind the

"By heavens," said he; "that was a man. I thought that I was throwing a spy off the track, and I was in reality

The young painter was silent, but all was now explained: while he jumped from the cab, his tracker had been

carried away upon it. This discovery saddened the dinner, and a little after ten Andre left his friend and

The Viscountess de Bois Arden had not been wrong when she told Andre in Van Klopen's establishment that

community of sorrow had brought the Count and Countess of Mussidan nearer together, and that Sabine had

made up her mind to sacrifice herself for the honor of the family. Unfortunately, however, this change in the

relations of husband and wife had not taken place immediately; for after her interview with Doctor Hortebise,

Diana's first impulse had not been to go to her husband, but to write to Norbert, who was as much

compromised by the correspondence as she herself. Her first letter did not elicit a reply. She wrote a second,

and then a third, in which, though she did not go into details, she let the Duke know that she was the victim of

a dark intrigue, and that a deadly peril was hanging over her daughter's head. This last letter was brought

back to her by the messenger, without any envelope, and across it Norbert had written,

"The weapon which you have used against me has now been turned against yourself. Heaven is just."

These words started up in letters of fire before her eyes as the presage of coming misfortune, and telling her

that the hour of retribution had now come, and that she must be prepared to suffer, as an atonement for her

crimes. Then it was that she felt all was lost, and she must go to her husband for aid, unless she desired that

copies of the stolen letters should be sent to him; and in a little boudoir, adjoining Sabine's own room, she

opened her heart and told her husband all. She performed it with all the skill of a woman who, without

descending to falsehood, contrives to conceal the truth. But she could not hide the share that she had taken,

both in the death of the late Duke of Champdoce and the disappearance of George de Croisenois.

The Count's brain reeled. He called up to his memory what Diana had been when he first saw and loved her at

Laurebourg: how pure and modest she looked! what virginal candor sat upon her brow! and yet she was even

De Mussidan had had hideous doubts concerning the relations of Norbert and Diana, both before and after

marriage; but his wife firmly denied this at the moment when she was revealing the other guilty secrets of her

past life. He had believed that Sabine was not his child, and now he had to reproach himself with the

He made no answer to the terrible revelation that was poured into his ears; but when the Countess had

concluded, he rose and left the room, stretching out his hands and grasping the walls for support, like a

The Count and Countess believed that Sabine had slept through this interview, but they were mistaken, for

Sabine had heard all those fatal words"ruin, dishonor, and despair!" At first she scarcely understood. Were

not these words merely the offspring of her delirium? She strove to shake it off, but too soon she knew that

the whispered words were sad realities, and she lay on her bed quivering with terror. Much of the

conversation escaped her, but she heard enough. Her mother's past sins were to be exposed if the daughter did

not marry a man entirely unknown to herthe Marquis de Croisenois. She knew that her torments would not

be of very long duration, for to part with her love for Andre would be to part with life itself. She made up her

mind to live until she had saved her parents' honor by the sacrifice of herself, and then she would be free to

But the terrible revelation bore its fruits, for her fever came back, and a relapse was the result. But youth and

a sound constitution gained the day, and when she was convalescent her will was as strong as ever.

Her first act was to write the letter to her lover which had driven him to the verge of distraction; and then,

fearing lest her father might, in his agony and remorse, be driven to some rash act, she went to him and told

"I never loved M. de Breulh," said she with a pitiful smile, "and therefore the sacrifice is not so great after

The Count was not for a moment the dupe of the generoussouled girl, but he did not dare to brave the

scandal of the death of Montlouis, and still less the exposure of his wife's conduct. Time was passing,

however, and the miscreants in whose power they were made no signs of life. Hortebise did not appear any

more, and there were moments when the miserable Diana actually ventured to hope. "Have they forgotten

The Champdoce affair had been satisfactorily arranged, and every precaution had been taken to prevent the

detection of Paul as an impostor, and engaged as he had been, Mascarin had no time to turn his attention to

the marriage of Sabine and De Croisenois. The famous Limited Company, with the Marquis as chairman,

had, too, to be started, the shares of which were to be taken up by the unhappy victims of the blackmailers;

but first some decided steps must be taken with the Mussidans, and Tantaine was dispatched on this errand.

This amiable individual, though he was going into such very excellent society, did not consider it necessary

to make any improvement in his attire. This was the reason why the footman, upon seeing such a shabby

visitor and hearing him ask for the Count or Countess, did not hesitate to reply, with a sneer, that his master

and mistress had been out for some months, and were not likely to return for a week or two. This fact did not

disconcert the wily man, for drawing one of Mascarin's cards from his pocket, he begged the kind gentleman

Florestan left the room, and the Count mutely handed the card to his wife, but she had no need to read it.

"The day for settling accounts has come," said the Count, "and this name is the fatal sign."

The Countess flung herself upon her knees, and taking the hand that hung placidly by his side, pressed her

"Forgive me, Octave!" she muttered. "Will you not forgive me? I am a miserable wretch, and why did not

Heaven punish me for the sins that I have committed, and not make others expiate my offences?"

The Count put her gently aside. He suffered intensely, and yet no word of reproach escaped his lips against

"And Sabine," she went on, "must she, a De Mussidan, marry one of these wretched scoundrels?"

Sabine was the only one in the room who preserved her calmness; she had so schooled herself that her

"Do not make yourselves miserable," said she, with a faint smile; "how do we know that M. de Croisenois

The Count gazed upon his daughter with a look of the fondest affection and gratitude.

"Dearest Sabine!" murmured he. Her fortitude had restored his self command. "Let us be outwardly

resigned," said he, "whatever our feelings may be. Time may do much for us, and at the very church door we

Florestan had conducted Tantaine to the sumptuous library, in which the Count had received Mascarin's visit;

and, to pass away the time, the old man took a mental inventory of the contents of the room. He tried the

texture of the curtains, looked at the handsome bindings of the books, and admired the magnificent bronzes

"Aha," muttered he, as he tried the springs of a luxurious armchair, "everything is of the best, and when

matters are settled, I half think that I should like a restingplace just like this"

He checked himself, for the door opened, and the Count made his appearance, calm and dignified, but very

"I am not Mascarin certainly, but I used that highly respectable gentleman's name, because I knew that my

M. de Mussidan gazed with extreme surprise upon the squalid individual before him. His mild and

"I have come on the same business," pursued the old man. "I have been ordered to tell you that it must be

The Count hastily closed the door and locked it; the manner of this man made him feel even too plainly the

"I understand," answered he. "But how is it that you have come, and not the other one?"

"He intended to come; but at the last moment he drew back; Mascarin, you see, has a great deal to lose, while

I" He paused, and holding up the tattered tails of his coat, turned round, as though to exhibit his shabby

Tantaine nodded his head. "Yes, Count, I have the missing leaves from the Baron's journal, and also, wellI

"There is no 'if' in the case," returned he. "We state our conditions, for acceptance or rejection."

These words were uttered in a tone of such extreme insolence that the Count was strongly tempted to hurl the

extortionate scoundrel from the window, but he contrived to restrain his passion.

Tantaine extracted from some hidden recess of his coat a muchworn pocketbook, and drew from it a paper.

"Here are our conditions," returned he slowly. "The Count de Mussidan promises to give the hand of his

daughter to Henri Marquis de Croisenois. He will give his daughter a wedding portion of six hundred

thousand francs, and promises that the marriage shall take place without delay. The Marquis de Croisenois

will be formally introduced at your house, and he must be cordially received. Four days afterwards he must

be asked to dinner. On the fifteenth day from that M. de Mussidan will give a grand ball in honor of the

signing of the marriage contract. The leaves from the diary and the whole of the correspondence will be

With firmly compressed lips and clenched hands, the Count sat listening to these conditions.

"And who can tell me," said he, "that you will keep your engagements, and that these papers will be restored

"Your own good sense," answered he. "What more could we expect to get out of you than your daughter and

The Count did not answer, but paced up and down the room, eyeing the ambassador keenly, and endeavoring

to detect some weak point in his manner of cynicism and audacity. Then speaking in the calm tone of a man

"You hold me as in a vice, and I admit myself vanquished. Stringent as your conditions are, I accept them."

"Then," continued the Count, with a ray of hope gleaming in his face, "why should I give my daughter to De

Croisenois at all?surely this is utterly unnecessary. What you want is simply six hundred thousand francs;

He paused and waited for the reply, believing that the day was his; but he was wrong.

"That would not be the same thing at all," answered Tantaine. "We should not gain our ends by such means."

"I can do more," said the Count. "Give me six months, and I will add a million to the sum I have already

Tantaine did not appear impressed by the magnitude of this offer. "I think," remarked he, "that it will be

better to close this interview, which, I confess, is becoming a little annoying. You agreed to accept the

"Then," went on Tantaine, "I will take my leave. Remember, that as you fulfil your engagement, so we will

"Another word, if you please. I can answer for myself and Madame de Mussidan, but how about my

"If mademoiselle makes any objection," said the old man in peremptory accents, "you must let me see her for

"I should say that if she loves any one, it is not M. de Breulh." He endeavored to pass through the

"You shall not leave this room," cried he, "until you have explained this insulting remark."

"I had no intention of offending you," answered Tantaine humbly. "I only" He paused, and then, with an

air of sarcasm which sat strangely upon a person of his appearance, went on, "I am aware that the heiress of a

noble family may do many things without having her reputation compromised, when girls in a lower social

grade would be forever lost by the commission of any one of them; and I am sure if the family of M. de

Breulh knew that the young lady to whom he was engaged had been in the habit of passing her afternoons

He paused, and hastily drew a revolver, for it seemed to him as if the Count were about to throw himself upon

him. "Softly, softly, if you please," cried he. "Blows and insults are fatal mistakes. I have better information

than yourself, that is all. I have more than ten times seen your daughter enter a house in the Rue Tour

The Count felt that he was choking. He tore off his cravat, and cried wildly, "Proofs! Give me proofs!"

During the last five minutes Tantaine had shifted his ground so skilfully that the heavy library table now

stood between himself and the Count, and he was comparatively safe behind this extemporized defence.

"Proofs?" answered he. "Do you think that I carry them about with me? In a week I could give you the lovers'

correspondence. That, you will say, is too long to wait; but you can set your doubts at rest at once. If you go

to the address I will give you before eight tomorrow morning, and enter the rooms occupied by M. Andre,

you will find the portrait of Mademoiselle Sabine carefully concealed from view behind a green curtain, and

a very good portrait it is. I presume you will admit that it could not have been executed without a sitting."

Tantaine did not wait for a repetition of these words. He passed through the doorway, and as soon as he was

outside he called out in cheerful accents. "Do not forget the address, Number 45, Rue Tour d'Auvergne, name

The Count made a rush at him on hearing this last insult, but he was too late, for Tantaine slammed the door,

and was in the hall before the infuriated master of the house could open it. Tantaine had resumed all his airs

of humility, and took off his hat to the footmen as he descended the steps. "Yes," muttered he, as he walked

along, "the idea was a happy one. Andre knows that he is watched, and will be careful; and now that M. de

Mussidan is aware that his sweet, pure daughter has had a lover, he will be only too happy to accept the

Marquis de Croisenois as his soninlaw." Tantaine believed that Sabine was more culpable than she really

By this time Tantaine was in the Champs Elysees, and stared anxiously around. "If my Toto makes no

The old man got very cross as he at last perceived the missing lad conversing with the proprietor of a

Toto Chupin heard him, for he looked round, but he did not move, for he was certainly much interested in the

conversation he was carrying on. Tantaine shouted again, and this time more angrily than before, and Toto,

"You have been a nice time getting here," said the lad sulkily. "I was just going to cut it. Ain't you well that

"Yes; he is a sharper chap than I am. How much do you earn every day, Daddy Tantaine? Well, that chap

makes his thirty or forty francs every night, and does precious little for it. I should like a business like that,

"Have patience. I thought that you were going into business with those two young men you were drinking

Toto uttered a shrill cry of anger at these words. "Business with them?" shrieked he; "they are regular clever

"Yes; they have utterly ruined me. Luckily, I saw Mascarin yesterday, and he set me up in the hotchestnut

Tantaine curled his lip disdainfully. "Not a bad fellow, I dare say, as long as you don't ask him for anything."

Toto was so surprised at hearing Tantaine abuse Mascarin, that he was unable to utter a word.

"Ah, you may look surprised," continued the old man, "but when a man is rolling in riches, and leaves an old

friend to starve, then he is not what I call a real good fellow. Now, Toto, you are a bright lad, and so I don't

mind letting you know that I am only waiting for a good chance to drop Mascarin, and set up on my own

"Yes, I have; but I came to grief over it. You know all about it as well as I do, for don't tell me you didn't hear

every word I said that night you were hunting up Caroline Schimmel. However, I'll tell you. One day when I

saw a lady who looked rather nervous get out of a cab, I followed her. I was decently togged out, so I rang at

the door. I was so sure that I was going to make a haul that I would not have taken ninetynine francs for the

hundred that I expected to make. Well, I rang, a girl opened the door, and in I went. What an ass I made of

myself! I found a great brute of a man there, who thrashed me within an inch of my life, and then kicked me

downstairs. See, he made his mark rather more plainly than I liked." And removing his cap, the boy showed

During this conversation Tantaine and the lad had been walking slowly up the Champs Elysees, and had by

this time arrived just opposite M. Gandelu's house, where Andre was at work. Tantaine sat down on a bench.

"Let us rest a bit," said he; "I am tired out; and now let me tell you, my lad, that your tale only shows me that

it is experience you want. Now, I have any amount of that, and I was really the prime mover in most of

Mascarin's schemes. If I were to start on my own account, I should be driving in my carriage in twelve

months. The only thing against my success is my age, for I am getting to be an old man. Why, even now I

have a matter in my hands that is simply splendid. I have had half the money down, but I want a smart young

Tantaine shook his head. "You are as much too young as I am too old," answered he. "At your age you are

too apt to be frightened, and would shrink back at the critical time. Besides, I have a conscience."

"And so have I," exclaimed Toto; "and it's grown like your own, old man; it can be stretched for miles and

"Well, we may be able to do something," returned Tantaine, as, drawing out a ragged check

"Listen to me, my lad; I'll put what we call a supposititious case to you. You hate those two fellows who have

robbed you, for I suppose that is what you meant; well, suppose you knew that they were at work all day on a

"If that crackjawed idea you talk of was true," answered he, "those gay lads might as well make their wills,

for I'd step up the scaffolding at night and just saw the planks that they are in the habit of clapping their toes

on, half through, and when one of the mates stepped on it, why, there would be a bit of a smash, eh, Daddy

"Not so bad, not so bad for a lad of your years," said the old man with an approving smile.

"Besides," he continued, "I would arrange matters so well that not a soul would think that I had done the

"The more I hear you speak, Chupin," answered Tantaine, "the more I believe you are the lad I want, and I

"Well," continued Tantaine, "let me tell you then that I know an old man with any amount of money, and

there is a fellow whom he hates and detests, a young chap who ran off with the girl he loved."

"Well, to tell the truth, he wasn't a bit pleased. Now it so happens that this gay young dog spends ten hours a

day at least on that very scaffolding opposite to us. The old fellow, who has his head screwed on the right

way, had the very same idea as yours, but he is too old and too stout to do the trick for himself; and, to cut the

matter short, he would give five thousand francs to the persons who would carry out his idea. Just think, two

"First, my lad," said he, "I must explain to you in what measure the old gentleman's plans are different from

yours. If we did not take care, some other poor devil might break his neck, but I have hit on a dodge to avoid

"Listen! Do you see high up; that little shed built of planks? That is used by the carvers and stonecutters.

Well, this little house, a couple of hundred feet above us, has a kind of a window; well, if this window and

the planks below it were cut nearly through, any one leaning against it would be very likely to fall into the

"Now, suppose," went on Tantaine, "that the enemy of our old gentleman was in that little shed, all at once he

hears a woman shriek, 'Help! It is I you love; help me!' what would this young fellow do? Why, he would

recognize the voice, rush to the window, lean out, and as the woodwork and supports had been cut away, he

"I don't say I won't," muttered he; "but, look here, will the old chap pay down smart?"

The boy's eyes glistened as the old man unpinned the tattered lining of his pocket, and holding the pin

between his teeth, pulled out the banknotes, each one for a thousand francs. Chupin's heart rose at the sight of

"Is one of those for me?" asked he. Tantaine held the note towards the boy, who shuddered at the touch of the

crisp paper and kissed the precious object in a paroxysm of pleasure. He then started from his seat, and

regardless of the astonishment of the passersby, executed a wild dance of triumph.

All was soon settled. Toto was to creep into the unfinished building by night, and not to leave it until he had

completed his work. Tantaine, who had a thought for everything, told the boy what sort of a saw to employ,

"You must remember, my dear lad," said he, "not to leave behind you any traces of your work which may

cause suspicion. One grain of sawdust on the floor might spoil the whole game. Take a dark lantern with you,

grease your saw, and rasp out the toothnicks of the saw when you have finished your work."

Toto listened to the old man in surprise; he had never thought that he was of so practical a turn. He promised

that he would be careful, and imagining that he had received all his directions, rose to leave; but the old man

"Here," said he, "suppose you tell me a little about Caroline Schimmel. You told Beaumarchef that she said I

had made her scream, and that when she caught me, I should have a bad time of it, eh?"

"You weren't my partner then," returned the lad with an impudent laugh; "and I wanted to give you a bit of a

fright. The truth is, that you made the poor old girl so drunk that she has had to go to the hospital."

Tantaine was overjoyed at this news, and, rising from his seat, said, "Where are you living now?"

"Nowhere in particular. Yesterday I slept in a stable, but there isn't room for all my furniture there, so I must

"Would you like to have my room for a day or two?" asked Tantaine, chuckling at the boy's jest. "I have

"You know well enough, in the Hotel de Perou, Rue de la Hachette. Then I will send a line to the landlady";

and tearing a leaf from his pocketbook, he scrawled on it a few words, saying that young relative of his, M.

This letter, together with his banknote, Toto carefully tied up in the corner of his neckerchief, and as he

crossed the street the old man watched him for a moment, and then stood gazing at the workmen on the

scaffolding. Just then Gandelu and his son came out, and the contractor paused to give a few instructions. For

a few seconds Gaston and Chupin stood side by side, and a strange smile flitted across Tantaine's face as he

noted this. "Both children of Paris," muttered he, "and both striking examples of the boasted civilization. The

But he had no time to spend in philosophical speculations, as the omnibus that he required appeared, and

entering it, in another half hour he entered Paul Violaine's lodgings in the Rue Montmartre.

The portress, Mother Brigaut, was at her post as Tantaine entered the courtyard and asked,

"Better, sir, ever so much better; I made him a lovely bowl of soup yesterday, and he drank up every drop of

it. He looks like a real king this morning, and the doctor sent in a dozen of wine today, which will, I am

With a smile and a nod Tantaine was making his way to the stairs, when Mother Brigaut prevented his

"Oh, a man like any other, nothing in particular about him, but he wasn't a gentleman, for after keeping me

for fully fifteen minutes talking and talking, he only gave me a fivefranc piece."

The description was not one that would lead to a recognition of the person, and Tantaine asked in tones of

"Yes, he had on gold spectacles with the mountings as fine as a hair, and a watch chain as thick and heavy as

"Yes," answered she. "Oh! there was one thing morethe person knows that you come here."

"Because all the time he was talking to me he was in a rare fidget, and always kept his eyes on the door."

"Thanks, Mother Brigaut; mind and keep a sharp lookout," returned Tantaine, as he slowly ascended the

Every now and then he paused to think. "Who upon earth can this fellow be?" asked he of himself. He

reviewed the whole questionchances, probabilities, and risks, not one was neglected, but all in vain.

His nerves were terribly shaken, and he strove in vain to regain his customary audacity. By this time he had

reached the door of Paul's room, and, on his ringing, the door was at once opened; but at the sight of this

woman he started back, with a cry of angry surprise; for it was a female figure that stood before him, a young

The keen eyes of Tantaine showed him that Flavia's visit had not been of long duration. She had removed her

The old man strove to speak, but his lips would not frame a single sentence. A band of steel seemed to be

compressing his throat, and he appeared like a man about to be seized with an apoplectic fit.

Flavia gazed upon the shabbylooking visitor with an expression of intense disgust. It seemed to her that she

had seen him somewhere; in fact, there was an inexplicable manner about him which entirely puzzled her.

"I want to speak to M. Paul," said the old man in a low, hoarse whisper; "he is expecting me."

She threw open the door more widely, and stepped back, so that the greasy garments of the visitor might not

touch her dress. He passed her with an abject bow, and crossed the little sittingroom with the air of a man

who perfectly understands his way. He did not knock at the door of the bedroom, but went straight in; there a

singular spectacle at once arrested his attention. Paul, with a very pale face, was seated on the bed, while

Hortebise was attentively examining his bare shoulder. The whole of Paul's right arm and shoulder was a

large open wound, which seemed to have been caused by a burn or scald, and must have been extremely

painful. The doctor was bending over him, applying a cooling lotion to the injured place with a small piece of

sponge. He turned sharply round on Daddy Tantaine's entrance; and so accustomed were these men to read

each other's faces at a glance that Hortebise saw at once what had happened; for Tantaine's expression plainly

said, "Is Flavia mad to be here?" while the eyes of Hortebise answered, "She may be, but I could not help it."

"Come here," said he merrily, "and just see to what a wretched state I have been reduced between the doctor

Tantaine examined the wound carefully. "Are you quite sure," asked he, "that not only will it deceive the

Duke, who will see but with our eyes, but also those of his wife, and perhaps of his medical man?"

"And how long must we wait," asked the old man, "until the place skins over, and assumes the appearance of

"Listen to me. The scar will not be quite natural then, but I intend to subject it to various other modes of

The dressing was now over, and Paul's shirt being readjusted, he was permitted to lie down again.

"I am quite willing to remain here forever," said he, "as long as I am allowed to retain the services of the

nurse that I have in the next room, and who, I am sure, is waiting with the greatest eagerness for your

Hortebise fumed, and cast a glance at Paul which seemed to say, "Be silent"; but the conceited young man

"How long has this charming nurse been with you?" asked Tantaine in an unnatural voice.

"Ever since I have been in bed," returned Paul with the air of a gay young fellow. "I wrote a note that I was

unable to go over to her, so she came to me. I sent my letter at nine o'clock, and at ten minutes past she was

The diplomatic doctor slipped behind Tantaine, and made violent gestures to endeavor to persuade Paul to

"M. Martin Rigal," continued the vain young fool, "passes the greater part of his life in his private office. As

soon as he gets up he goes there, and is not seen for the rest of the day. Flavia can therefore do entirely as she

likes. As soon as she knows that her worthy father is deep in his ledgers, she puts on her hat and runs round to

The doctor was hard at work at his danger signals, but it was useless. Paul saw them, but did not comprehend

"And why? You know that Flavia loves me, poor girl. I ought to marry her, and of course I shall; but still, if I

"You wretched scoundrel!" exclaimed the usually placid Tantaine. His manner was so fierce and threatening

It was impossible for Tantaine to say another word, for Hortebise placed his hand upon his lips, and dragged

Paul could not for the life of him imagine why Tantaine had left the room in apparently so angry a mood. He

had certainly spoken of Flavia in a most improper manner; for the very weakness of which she had been

guilty should have caused him to treat her with tender deference and respect. He could understand the anger

of Hortebise, who was Rigal's friend; but what on earth had Tantaine in common with the wealthy banker and

his daughter? Forgetful of the pain which the smallest movement upon his part produced, Paul sat up in his

bed, and listened with intense eagerness, hoping to catch what was going on in the next room; but he could

Daddy Tantaine and Hortebise passed out of the room hastily, but when they reached the staircase they stood

still. The doctor wore the same smiling expression of face, and he endeavored to calm his companion, who

"Have courage," whispered he; "what is the use of giving way to passion? You cannot help this; it is too late

"Ah!" moaned he, "now I can enter into the feelings of M. de Mussidan when I proved to him that his

daughter had a lover. I have been hard and pitiless, and I am cruelly punished."

"My old friend, you must not attach too much importance to what you have heard. Paul is a mere boy, and, of

"Paul is a miserably cowardly dog," answered the old man in a fierce undertone. "Paul does not love the girl

as she loves him; but what he says is true, only too true, I can feel. Between her father and her lover she

would not hesitate for a moment. Ah! unhappy girl, what a terrible future lies before her."

"I cannot speak to her myself," resumed he; "do you, doctor, strive and make her have reason."

Hortebise shrugged his shoulders. "I will see what my powers of oratory can do," answered he; "but you are

not quite yourself today. Remember that a chance word will betray the secret of our lives."

The doctor went back into Paul's room, while Tantaine sat down on the topmost stair, his face buried in his

"What, back again?" asked she petulantly. "I thought that you had been far away by this time."

"I want to say something to you," answered he, "and something of a rather serious nature. You must not

elevate those charming eyebrows. I see you guess what I am going to say, and you are right. I am come to tell

This unexpected reply, made with the calmest air in the world, utterly disconcerted the smiling doctor.

"That I ought not to be here; but then, you see, I place duty before cold, worldly dictates. Paul is very ill, and

has no one to take care of him except his affianced bride; for has not my father given his consent to our

"Flavia, listen to the experience of a man of the world. The nature of men is such that they never forgive a

woman for compromising her reputation, even though it be in their own favor. Do you know what people will

say twentyfour hours after your marriage? Why, that you had been his mistress for weeks before, and that it

was only the knowledge of that fact that inclined your father to consent to the alliance."

Flavia's face grew crimson. "Very well," said she, "I will obey, and never say again that I was obstinate; but

The doctor retired, not guessing that this obedience arose from the sudden suspicion which had arisen in

Flavia's mind. "It is done," said he, as he rejoined Tantaine on the stairs; "let us hasten, for she will follow us

By the time that Tantaine got into the street, he seemed to have recovered a certain amount of his

selfcommand. "We have succeeded," said he, "but we shall have to work hard, and this marriage must be

hastened by every means in our power. It can be celebrated now without any risk, for in twelve hours the only

obstacle that stands between that youth there and the colossal fortune of the Champdoce will have vanished

Though he had expected something of the kind, the face of the doctor grew very pale.

"Andre is in great danger, doctor, and may not survive tomorrow, and a portion of the work necessary to this

"By that young scamp? Why, only the other day you laughed when I suggested employing him."

"I shall this time kill two birds with one stone. Once an investigation is madelet us speak plainlyinto

Andre's death, there will be some inquiry made as to a certain window frame that has been sawed through,

and suspicion will fall upon Toto Chupin, who will have been seen lurking about the spot. It will be proved

that he purchased a saw, and that he changed just before a note for one thousand francs; he will be found

"Very likely, but by that time poor old Tantaine will be dead and buried. Then Mascarin will disappear, our

faithful Beaumarchef will be in the United States, and we can afford to laugh at the police."

"It seems like a success," said the doctor, "but push on for mercy's sake; all these delays and fluctuations will

The two worthy associates held this conversation in a doorway, anxious to be sure that Flavia had kept her

promise. In a brief space of time they saw her come out of the house and move in the direction of her father's

"Now," said Tantaine, "I can go in peace, doctor; farewell for the present;" and without waiting for a reply he

was walking rapidly away when he was stopped by Beaumarchef, who came up breathless and barred his

"I was looking for you," cried he; "the Marquis de Croisenois is in the office and is swearing at me like

"Go back to the office and tell the Marquis that the master will soon be with him;" and thus speaking,

The Marquis was striding up and down the office, every now and then discharging a rumbling cannonade of

oaths. "Fine business people," remarked he, "to make an appointment and then not to keep it!" He checked

himself; for the door of the inner office slowly opened, and Mascarin appeared on the threshold.

"Punctuality," said he, "does not consist in coming /before/, but /at/ the time appointed."

The Marquis was cowed at once, and followed Mascarin into the sanctum and watched him with curious gaze

as the redoubtable head of the association seemed to be searching for something among the papers on his

desk. When Mascarin had found what he was in search of, he turned and addressed the Marquis.

"I desired to see you," said he, "with reference to the great financial enterprise which you are to launch almost

"Yes; I understand that we must discuss it, fully understand it, and feel our way."

"Do you think," asked he, "that I am the kind of person to stand and wait while you feel your way? Because if

you do, the sooner you undeceive yourself the better. Things that I take in hand are carried out like a flash of

lightning. You have been playing while I and Catenac have been working, and nothing remains to be done

"I mean that offices have been taken in the Rue Vivienne, that the articles of association have been drawn up,

the directors chosen, and the Company registered. The printer brought the prospectus here yesterday; you can

"Read it for yourself," said Mascarin, handing a printed paper to him. "Read, and then, perhaps, you will be

COPPER MINES OF TAFILA, ALGERIA. Chairman: THE MARQUIS HENRI DE CROISENOIS. Capital:

This company does not appeal to that rash class of speculators who are willing to incur great risks for the

The shareholders in the Tafila Copper Mining Company, Limited, must not look for a dividend of more than

"It seems fair enough," answered De Croisenois, "but suppose others than those whose names you have in

"We should simply decline to allot shares to them, that is all. See the Article XX. in the Articles of

Association. 'The Board of Directors may decline to allot shares to applicants without giving any reason for

"And suppose," continued the Marquis, "that one of our own people dispose of his share, may we not find our

"Article XXI. 'No transfer of stock is valid, unless passed by the Board of Directors, and recorded in the

"Easily enough. You will advertise one morning that twothirds of the capital having been unsuccessfully

sunk in the enterprise, you are compelled to apply for a windingup of the Company under Article XVII. Six

months afterwards you will announce that the liquidation of the Company has, after all expenses have been

paid, left no balance whatsoever. Then you wash your hands of the whole thing, and the matter is at an end."

Croisenois felt that he had no ground to stand upon, but he ventured on one more objection.

"It seems rather a strange thing to launch this enterprise at the present moment. May it not interfere with my

marriage prospects? and may not the Count de Mussidan decline to give me his daughter and risk her dowry

"You mean, I suppose," said he, "that when once you are safely married and have received Mademoiselle

Sabine's dowry, you will take leave of us. Not so, my dear young friend; and if this is your idea, put it aside,

That evening, when M. Martin Rigal emerged from his private office, his daughter Flavia was more than

usually demonstrative in her tokens of affection. "How fondly I love you, my dearest father!" said she, as she

rained kisses on his cheeks. "How good you are to me!" but on this occasion the banker was too much

preoccupied to ask his daughter the reason for this extreme tenderness on her part.

The danger with which Andre was menaced was most terrible, and the importance of the game he was

playing made him feel that he had everything to fear from the boldness and audacity of his enemies. He knew

this, and he also knew that spies dogged all his movements. What could be wanted but a favorable

opportunity to assassinate him. But even this knowledge did not make him hesitate for an instant, and all his

caution was fully exercised, for he felt that should he perish, Sabine would be inevitably lost. On her account

he acted with a prudence which was certainly not one of his general characteristics. He was quite aware that

he might put himself under the protection of the police, but this he knew would be to imperil the honor of the

Mussidan family. He was sure that with time and patience he should be able to unravel the plots of the

villains who were at work. But he had not time to do so by degrees. No, he must make a bold dash at once.

The hideous sacrifice of which Sabine was to be the victim was being hurried on, and it seemed to him as if

his very existence was being carried away by the hours as they flitted by. He went over recent events

carefully one by one, and he strove to piece them together as a child does the portions of a dissected map. He

wanted to find out the one common interest that bound all these plotters togetherVerminet, Van Klopen,

Mascarin, Hortebise, and Martin Rigal. As he submitted all this strange combination of persons to the test,

"Is it not curious," thought he, "that this unhappy boy should be the victim of the cruel band of miscreants

Suddenly he started to his feet, for a fresh idea had flashed across his braina thought that was as yet but

crude and undefined, but which seemed to bear the promise of hope and deliverance. It seemed to him that

the affair of young Gandelu was closely connected with his own, that they were part and parcel of the same

dark plot, and that these bills with their forged acceptance had more to do with him than he had ever

imagined. How it was that he and Gaston could be connected he could not for a moment guess; yet now he

would have cheerfully sworn that such was the case. Who was it that had informed the father of the son's

conduct? Why, Catenac. Who had advised that proceedings should be taken against Rose, /alias/ Zora? Why,

Catenac again; and this same man, in addition to acting for Gandelu, it seems, was also the confidential

solicitor of the Marquis de Croisenois and Verminet. Perhaps he had only obeyed their instructions. All this

was very vague and unsatisfactory, but it might be something to go upon, and who could say what conclusion

careful inquiry might not lead him to? and Andre determined to carry on his investigations, and endeavor to

find the hidden links that connected this chain of rascality together. He had taken up a pencil with the view of

making a few notes, when he heard a knock at his door. He glanced at the clock; it was not yet nine.

The door was thrown open, and the young artist started as he recognized in his early visitor the father of

Sabine. It was after a sleepless night that the Count had decided to take the present step. He was terribly

"You will, I trust, pardon me, sir," said he, "for making such an early call upon you, but I thought that I

In the space of one brief instant a thousand suppositions, each one more unlikely than the other, coursed

through his brain. Why had the Count called? Who could have given him his address? And was the visit

"I am a great admirer of paintings," began the Count, "and one of my friends upon whose taste I can rely has

spoken to me in the warmest terms of your talent. This I trust will explain the liberty I have taken. Curiosity

The concealment of the Count's real name showed Andre that the visit was not entirely a friendly one, and

"I am only too pleased to receive your visit. Unfortunately just now I have nothing ready, only a few rough

The Count replied eagerly in the affirmative. He was terribly embarrassed under his fictitious name, and

shrank before the honest, open gaze of the young artist, and his mental disturbance was completed by seeing

in one corner of the room the picture covered with a green cloth, which Tantaine had alluded to. It was

evident that the old villain had told the truth, and that his daughter's portrait was concealed behind this

wrapper. She had evidently been herehad spent hours here, and whose fault was it? She had but listened to

the voice of her heart, and had sought that affection abroad which she was unable to obtain at home. As the

Count gazed upon the young man before him, he was forced to admit that Mademoiselle Sabine had not fixed

her affections on an unworthy object, for at the very first glance he had been struck with the manly beauty of

"Ah," thought Andre, "you come to me under a name that is not your own, and I will respect your wish to

remain unknown, but I will take advantage of it by letting you know things which I should not dare say to

Great as was Andre's preoccupation, he could not fail to notice that his visitor's eyes sought the veiled picture

with strange persistency. While M. de Mussidan was looking at the various sketches on the walls, Andre had

"Let me congratulate you, sir," remarked the Count, as he returned to the spot where the painter was standing.

"My friend's admiration was well founded. I am sorry, however, that you have nothing finished to show me.

"Not even that picture whose frame I can distinguish through the serge curtain that covers it?"

"Excuse me," answered he; "that picture is certainly finished, but it is not on view."

Both men were much agitated at this moment, and avoided meeting each other's eyes.

"Ah, you are in love, I see!" remarked he with a forced laugh. "All great artists have depicted the charms of

"Stop," cried Andre with an angry glance in his eyes. "The picture you refer to is the portrait of the purest and

most innocent girl in the world. I shall love her all my life; but, if possible, my respect for her is greater than

my love. I should consider myself a most degraded wretch, had I ever whispered in her ear a word that her

A feeling of the most instantaneous relief thrilled through M. de Mussidan's heart.

"You will pardon me," suggested he blandly, "but when one sees a portrait in a studio, the inference is that a

"You are right. She came here secretly, and without the knowledge of her family, at the risk of her honor and

reputation, thus affording me the strongest proof of her love. It was cruel of me," continued the young artist,

"to accept this proof of her entire devotion, and yet not only did I accept it, but I pleaded for it on my bended

knee, for how else was I to hear the music of her voice, or gladden my eyes with her beauty? We love each

other, but a gulf wider than the stormy sea divides us. She is an heiress, come of a proud and haughty line of

Andre paused, waiting for some words wither of encouragement or censure; but the Count remained silent,

"Do you know who I am? A poor foundling, placed in the Hospital of Vendome, the illicit offspring of some

poor betrayed girl. I started in the world with twenty francs in my pocket, and found my way to Paris; since

then I have earned my bread by my daily work. You only see here the more brilliant side of my life; for an

If M. de Mussidan remained silent, it was from extreme admiration of the noble character, which was so

"She knows all this," pursued Andre, "and yet she loves me. It was here, in this very room, that she vowed

that she could never be the wife of another. Not a month ago, a gentleman, well born, wealthy, and

fascinating, with every characteristic that a woman could love, was a suitor for her hand. She went boldly to

him, told him the story of our love, and, like a noblehearted gentleman, he withdrew at once, and today is

my best and kindest friend. Now, Marquis, would you like to see this young girl's picture?"

"Yes," answered the Count, "and I shall feel deeply grateful to you for such a mark of confidence."

Andre went to the picture, but as he touched the curtain he turned quickly towards his visitor.

Andre obeyed, and for a moment the Count stood entranced before the work of genius that met his eyes.

"It is she!" said the father. "Her very smile; the same soft light in her eyes. It is exquisite!"

Misfortune is a harsh teacher; some weeks ago he would have smiled superciliously at the mere idea of

granting his daughter's hand to a struggling artist, for then he thought only of M. de Breulh, but now he

would have esteemed it a precious boon had he been allowed to choose Andre as Sabine's husband. But Henri

de Croisenois stood in the way, and as this idea flashed across the Count's mind he gave a perceptible start.

He was sure from the excessive calmness of the young man that he must be well acquainted with all recent

events. He asked the question, and Andre, in the most open manner, told him all he knew. The generosity of

M. de Breulh, the kindness of Madame Bois Arden, his suspicions, his inquiries, his projects, and his hopes.

M. de Mussidan gazed once more upon his daughter's portrait, and then taking the hand of the young painter,

"M. Andre, if ever we can free ourselves from those miscreants, whose daggers are pointed at our hearts,

Yes, Sabine might yet be his, but between the lovers stood the forms of Croisenois and his associates. But

Just then, however, he heard a sound of ringing laughter outside his door. He could distinguish a woman's

voice, and also a man's, speaking in high, shrill tones. All at once his door burst open, and a hurricane of

silks, velvets, feathers, and lace whirled in. With extreme surprise, the young artist recognized the beautiful

features of Rose, /alias/ Zora de Chantemille. Gaston de Gandelu followed her, and at once began,

"Ah! well, it is a little surprise of the governor's. On my word, I really will be a dutiful son for the future.

Today, the good old boy came into my room, and said, 'This morning I took the necessary steps to release

the person in whom you are interested. Go and meet her.' What do you think of that? So off I ran to find Zora,

Andre did not pay much attention to Gaston, but was engaged in watching Zora, who was looking round the

studio. She went up to Sabine's portrait, and was about to draw the curtain, when Andre exclaimed,

"Excuse me," said he; "I must put this picture to dry." And as the portrait stood on a moveable easel, he

"And now," said Gaston, "I want you to come and breakfast with us to celebrate Zora's happy release."

"I assure you that it is quite out of the question. I cannot leave the studio yet."

"I have it," said he triumphantly. "You will not come to breakfast; then breakfast shall come to you. I am off

Andre ran after him, but Gaston was too quick, and he returned to the studio in anything but an amiable

"He always goes on in this absurd way," said she, with a shrug of her pretty shoulders, "and thinks himself so

Her tone disclosed such contempt for Gaston that Andre looked at her in perplexed surprise.

"What do you look so astonished at? It is easy to see you do not know much of him. All his friends are just

like him; if you listen to them for half an hour at a stretch, you get regularly sick. When I think of the terrible

evenings that I have spent in their company, I feel ready to die with yawning;" and as she spoke, she suited

"Do you think so?" said she. "Do you know what it is he loves in me? When people pass me they cry out,

'Isn't she good style?' and then the idiot is as pleased as Punch; but if I had on a cotton gown, he would think

Rose had evidently learned a good ideal, as her beauty had never been so radiant. She was one glow of health

"Then my name was not good enough for him," she went on. "His aristocratic lips could not bring themselves

to utter such a common name as Rose, so he christened me Zora, a regular puppy dog's name. He has plenty

of money, but money is not everything after all. Paul had no money, and yet I loved him a thousand times

better. On my word, I have almost forgotten how to laugh, and yet I used to be as merry as the day was long."

"Well, you see, I wanted to experience what a woman feels when she has a Cashmere shawl on, so one fine

morning I took wing. But there, who knows? Paul would very likely have left me one day. There was some

one who was doing his best to separate us, an old blackguard called Tantaine, who lived in the same house."

"Ah!" answered he cautiously. "What interest could he have had in separating you?"

"I don't know," answered the girl, assuming a serious air; "but I am sure he was trying it on. A fellow doesn't

hand over banknotes for nothing, and I saw him give one for five hundred francs to Paul; and more than that,

he promised him that he should make a great fortune through a friend of his called Mascarin."

Andre started. He remembered the visit that Paul had made him, on the pretext of restoring the twenty francs

he had borrowed, and at which he had boasted that he had an income of a thousand francs a month, and might

make more, though he had not said how this was to be done. "I think that Paul has forgotten me. I saw him

once at Van Klopen's, and he never attempted to say a word to me. He was certainly with that Mascarin at the

Andre could only draw one conclusion from this, either that Paul was protected by the band of conspirators,

or else that he formed one of it. In that case he was useful to them; while Rose, who was in their way, was

persecuted by them. Andre's mind came to this conclusion in an instant. It seemed to him that if Catenac had

been desirous of imprisoning Rose, it was because she was in the way, and her presence disturbed certain

combinations. Before, however, he could work out his line of deduction, Gaston's shrill voice was heard upon

Two waiters followed him, bearing a number of covered dishes on trays. At another time Andre would have

been very angry at this invasion, and at the prospect of a breakfast that would last two or three hours and

utterly change everything; but now he was inclined to bless Gaston for his happy idea, and, with the

assistance of Rose, he speedily cleared a large table for the reception of the viands.

"And now I must tell you the joke of the day. Henri de Croisenois, one of my dearest friends, has absolutely

"Who told me? Why, a great big flaming poster. Tafila Copper Mines; capital, four millions. And my

esteemed friend, Henri, has not a five franc piece to keep the devil out of his pocket."

The face of the young artist expressed such blank surprise that Gaston burst into a loud laugh.

"You look just as I did when I read it. Henri de Croisenois, the chairman of a Company! Why, if you had

been elected Pope, I should not have been more surprised. Tafila Copper Mines! What a joke! The shares are

The waiters had now retired, and Gaston urged his friends to take their places at the table, and all seemed

Gaston, whose shallow brain could not stand the copious draughts of wine with which he washed down his

repast, began all at once to overwhelm Zora with bitter reproaches at her not being able to comprehend how a

man like him, who was destined to play a serious part in society, could have been led away, as he had been,

Gaston had a tongue which was never at a loss either to praise or blame, and Zora was equally ready to retort,

and defended herself with such acrimony that the lad, knowing himself to be in fault, entirely lost the small

remnant of temper which he still possessed, and dashed out of the room, declaring that he never wished to set

eyes upon Zora again, and that she might keep all the presents that he had lavished upon her for all he cared.

His departure was hailed with delight by Andre, who, now that he was left alone with Zora, hoped to derive

some further information from her, and especially a distinct description of Paul, whom he felt that he must

now reckon among his adversaries. But his hopes were destined to be frustrated, for Zora was so filled with

anger and excitement that she refused to listen to another word; and putting on her hat and mantle, with

scarcely a glance at the mirror, rushed out of the studio with the utmost speed, declaring that she would seek

All this passed so rapidly that the young painter felt as if a tornado had passed through his humble dwelling;

but as peace and calm returned, he began to see that Providence had directly interposed in his favor, and had

sent Rose and Gaston to his place to furnish him with fresh and important facts. All that Rose had said,

incomplete as her statement was, had thrown a ray of light upon an intrigue which, up till now, had been

shaded in the thickest gloom. The relations of Paul with Mascarin explained why Catenac had been so

anxious to have Rose imprisoned, and also seemed to hint vaguely at the reason for the extraction of the

forged signatures from the simple Gaston. What could be the meaning of the Company started by De

Croisenois at the very moment when he was about to celebrate his union with Sabine?

Andre desired to see the advertisement of the Company for himself; and without stopping to change his

blouse, ran downstairs to the corner of the street, where Gaston had told him that the announcement of the

Company was placarded up. He found it there, in a most conspicuous position, with all its advantages most

temptingly set forth. Nothing was wanting; and there was even a woodcut of Tafila, in Algiers, which

represented the copper mines in full working operation; while at the top, the name of the chairman, the

Andre stood gazing at this wonderful production for fully five minutes, when all at once a gleam of prudence

"I am a fool," said he to himself. "How do I know how many watchful eyes are now fixed on me, reading on

Upon his return to his room, he sat for more than an hour, turning over the whole affair in his mind, and at

length he flattered himself that he had hit upon an expedient. Behind the house in which he lodged was a

large garden, belonging to some public institution, the front of which was in the Rue Laval. A wall of about

seven feet in height divided these grounds from the premises in the Rue de la Tour d'Auvergne. Why should

he not go out by the way of these ornamental grounds and so elude the vigilance of the spies who might be in

"I can," thought he, "alter my appearance so much that I shall not be recognized. I need not return here to

This Vignol was the friend to whom, at Andre's request, M. Gandelu had given the superintendence of the

"I shall," continued he, "by this means escape entirely from De Croisenois and his emissaries, and can watch

their game without their having any suspicion of my doing so. For the time being, of course, I must give up

seeing those who have been helping me,De Breulh, Gandelu, Madame de Bois Arden, and M. de

Mussidan; that, however, cannot be avoided. I can use the post, and by it will inform them all of the step that

It was dark before he had finished his letters, and, of course, it was too late to try anything that day;

consequently he went out, posted his letters, and dined at the nearest restaurant.

On his return home, he proceeded to arrange his disguise. He had it ready, among his clothes: a blue blouse, a

pair of check trousers, wellworn shoes, and a shabby cap, were all that he required, and he then applied

himself to the task of altering his face. He first shaved off his beard. Then he twisted down two locks of hair,

which he managed to make rest on his forehead. Then he commenced applying some coloring to his face with

a paintbrush; but this he found to be an extremely difficult business, and it was not for a long while that he

was satisfied with the results that he had produced. He then knotted an old handkerchief round his neck, and

clapped his cap on one side, with the peak slanting over one eye. Then he took a last glance in the glass, and

felt that he had rendered himself absolutely unrecognizable. He was about to impart a few finishing touches,

when a knock came at his door. He was not expecting any one at such an hour, nine o'clock; for the waiters

Andre decided that he had no cause to distrust the lad, and so he opened his door.

"Has M. Andre gone out?" asked the poor boy faintly. "I though I heard his voice."

Gaston had not penetrated his disguise, and this was Andre's first triumph; but he saw now that he must alter

It was evident that young Gaston had received some terrible shock; for it could not have been the quarrel in

"Not in the least," answered Gaston, passing his hand across his forehead in a distracted manner; "but those

infernal bills have turned up. I was just leaving the diningroom, after having treated the governor to my

company, when the butler whispered in my ear that there was a man outside who wanted to see me. I went

out and found a dirty looking old scamp, with his coat collar turned up round the nape of his neck."

"Ah! was that his name? Well, it doesn't matter. He told me in the most friendly manner that the holder of my

bills had determined to place them in the hands of the police tomorrow at twelve o'clock, but that there was

"No one; I guessed it; for it was only the conclusion of the plan which they had initiated when you were

"That the idea was a ridiculous one, and that I would not stir a yard. They shall find out that I can be

obstinate, too; besides, I can see their little game. As soon as I am out of the way they will go to the governor

But Andre was not listening to him. What was best to be done? To advise Gaston to go and take Rose with

him was to deprive himself of a great element of success; and to permit him to kill himself was, of course, out

"Just attend to me," said he at last; "I have an idea which I will tell you as soon as we are out of this house;

but for reasons which are too long to go into at present it is necessary for me to get into the street without

going through the door. You will, therefore, go away, and as the clock strikes twelve you will ring at the

gateway of 29, Rue de Laval. When it is opened, ask some trivial question of the porter; and when you leave,

take care that you do not close the gate. I shall be in the garden of the house and will slip out and join you."

The plan succeeded admirably, and in ten minutes Gaston and Andre were walking along the boulevards.

The Marquis de Croisenois lived in a fine new house on the Boulevard Malesherbes near the church of St.

Augustine, and in a suite of rooms the rental of which was four thousand francs per annum. He had collected

together sufficient relics of his former splendor to dazzle the eyes of the superficial observer. The apartment

and the furniture stood in the name of his bodyservant, while his horse and brougham were by the same

fiction supposed to be the property of his coachman, for even in the midst of his ruin the Marquis de

The Marquis had two servants only in his modest establishmenta coachman, who did a certain amount of

indoor work, and a valet, who knew enough of cookery to prepare a bachelor breakfast. This valet Mascarin

had seen once, and the man had then produced so unpleasant an impression on the astute proprietor of the

Servants' Registry Office that he had set every means at work to discover who he was and from whence he

came. Croisenois said that he had taken him into his service on the recommendation of an English baronet of

his acquaintance, a certain Sir Richard Wakefield. The man was a Frenchman, but he had resided for some

time in England, for he spoke that language with tolerable fluency. Andre knew nothing of these details, but

he had heard of the existence of the valet from M. de Breulh, when he had asked where the Marquis lived.

At eight o'clock on the morning after he had surreptitiously left his home in the manner described, Andre

took up his position in a small wineshop not far from the abode of the Marquis de Croisenois. He had done

this designedly, for he knew enough of the manner and customs of Parisian society to know that this was the

hour usually selected by domestics in fashionable quarters to come out for a gossip while their masters were

still in bed. Andre had more confidence in himself than heretofore, for he had succeeded in saving Gaston;

and these were the means he had employed. After much trouble, and even by the use of threats, he had

persuaded the boy to return to his father's house. He had gone with him; and though it was two in the

morning, he had not hesitated to arouse M. Gandelu, senior, and tell him how his son had been led on to

"Tell him to come to me at once," said he, "and let him know that we two will save him."

Andre had not far to go, for Gaston was waiting in the next room in an agony of suspense.

As soon as he came into the old man's presence he fell upon his knees, with many promises of amendment for

"I do not believe," remarked old Gandelu, "that these miscreants will venture to carry their threats into

execution and place the matter in the hands of the police; but for all that, my son must not remain in a state of

suspense. I will file a complaint against the Mutual Loan Society before twelve today, and we will see how

an association will be dealt with that lends money to minors and urges them to forge signatures as security. It

will, however, be as well for my son to leave for Belgium by the first train this morning; but, as you will see,

Andre remained for the rest of the hours of darkness at the kind old man's house, and it was in Gaston's room

that he renewed his "makeup" before leaving. The future looked very bright to him as he walked gayly up

the Boulevard Malesherbes. The wineshop in which he had taken up his position was admirably adapted for

keeping watch on De Croisenois, for he could not avoid seeing all who came in and went out of the house;

and as there was no other wineshop in the neighborhood, Andre felt sure that all the servants in the vicinity,

and those of the Marquis, of course, among the number, would come there in the course of the morning; so

that here he could get into conversation with them, offer them a glass of wine, and, perhaps, get some

information from them. The room was large and airy, and was full of customers, most of whom were

servants. Andre was racking his brain for a means of getting into conversation with the proprietor, when two

newcomers entered the room. These men were in full livery, while all the other servants had on morning

jackets. As soon as they entered, an old man, with a calm expression of face, who was struggling

perseveringly with a tough beefsteak at the same table as that by which Andre was seated, observed,

"If they would only sit here," thought Andre, "by the side of this fellow, who evidently knows them, I could

By good luck they did so, begging that they might be served at once, as they were in a tremendous hurry.

"I have to drive the master to his office, for he has one now. He is chairman of a Copper Mining Company,

and a fine thing it is, too. If you have any money laid by, M. Benoit, this is a grand chance for you."

"All is not gold that glitters," said he sententiously; "nor, on the other hand, are things as bad as they are

"But if your master is going out, you, M. Mouret, will be free, and we can have a game at cards together."

"Yes; I have to carry a bouquet of flowers to the young lady my master is engaged to. I have seen the young

The man, who wore an enormously high and stiff collar, was absolutely speaking of Sabine, and Andre could

"Let us hope," remarked the coachman, as he hastily swallowed his breakfast, "that the Marquis does not

The men then ceased to speak of their master, and began to busy themselves with their own affairs, and went

out again without alluding to him any further, leaving Andre to reflect what a difficult business the detective

The customers looked upon him with distrustful eyes, for it must be confessed that his appearance was

decidedly against him, and he had not yet acquired the necessary art of seeing and hearing while affecting to

be doing neither; and it was easy for the dullest observer to be certain that it was not for the sake of obtaining

a breakfast that he had entered the establishment. Andre had penetration enough to see the effect he had

produced, and he became more and more embarrassed. He had finished his meal now and had lighted a cigar,

and had ordered a small glass of brandy. Nearly all the customers had withdrawn, leaving only five or six,

who were playing cards at a table near the door. Andre was anxious to see Croisenois enter his carriage, and

He had just been served, when a man, whose dress very much resembled his own, lounged into the

wineshop. He was a tall, clumsily built fellow, with an insolent expression upon his beardless face. His coat

and cap were in an equally dilapidated condition; and in the squeaky voice of the rough, he ordered a plate of

beef and half a bottle of wine, and, as he brushed past Andre, upset his glass of brandy. The artist made no

remark, though he felt quite sure that this act was intentional, as the fellow laughed impudently when he saw

the damage that he had done. When his breakfast was served, he carelessly spit upon Andre's boots. The

"Had he not succeeded in eluding his spies, as he thought that he had done? And was it not quite possible that

this man had been sent to pick a quarrel with him, and deal him a disabling, or even a fatal blow?"

Prudence counselled him to leave the place at once, but he felt that he could not go until he had found out the

real truth. There seemed to be but little doubt on the matter, however; for as the fellow cut up his meat, he

jerked every bit of skin and gristle into his neighbor's lap; then, after finishing up his wine, he managed to

upset the few drops remaining on to Andre's arm and shoulder. This was the finishing stroke.

"Please, remember," remarked Andre calmly, "that there is some one at the table besides yourself."

"Do you think I'm blind, mate?" returned the fellow brutally. "Mind your own business, or" And to

Andre started to his feet, and, with a welldirected blow in the chest, sent the fellow rolling under the table.

At the sound of the scuffle, the cardplayers turned round, and saw Andre standing erect, with quivering lips

and eyes flashing with rage, while his antagonist was lying on the floor among the overturned chairs.

The fellow scrambled to his feet, and made a savage rush at the young man, who, using his right foot

skilfully, tripped his antagonist up, and sent him again rolling on the ground. It was most adroitly done, and

secured the applause of the lookerson, who now complained no longer, and were evidently interested in the

Again the rough came up, but Andre contented himself with standing on the defensive. Some tables, a stool,

and a glass were injured, and at last the proprietor came upon the scene of action.

"Get out of this," cried he, "and take care that I don't see your faces here again."

"Don't put up with his cheek," said one of the customers; "give him in charge at once."

Hardly, however, had the manager started to summon the police, than, as if by magic, a body of them

appeared; and Andre found himself walking down the boulevard between a couple, while his late antagonist

followed in the safe custody of two more. To have attempted any resistance would have been utter folly, and

the young man resigned himself to what he felt he could not help. But as he went on, he reflected on the

strange scene through which he had just passed. All had gone on so rapidly that he could hardly recall the

events to his memory. He was, however, quite sure that this unprovoked assault concealed some motive with

The police led their prisoners through the doorway of a dingylooking old house, and then Andre saw that he

was not at the regular police station. The whole party entered an office, where a superintendent and two

clerks were at work. The ruffian who had assaulted Andre changed his manner directly he entered the office;

he threw his tattered cap upon a bench, passed his fingers through his hair, and shook hands with the

"Permit me, sir," said he, "to compliment you on being so handy with your fists. You precious nearly did for

At that moment a door opened at the other end of the room, and a voice was heard to say, "Send them in."

Andre and his late antagonist soon found themselves in an office evidently sacred to some one high up in the

police. At a desk near the window was seated a man, with a rather distinguished air, wearing a white necktie

"Have the goodness to take a seat," said this gentleman, addressing Andre with the most perfect urbanity.

He took a chair, half stupefied by the strangeness of the whole affair, and waited. Could he be awake, or was

"Before I say anything," remarked the gentleman in the gold spectacles, "I ought to apologize for a

proceeding which iswell, what shall I call it?a little rough, perhaps; but it was necessary to make use of

it to obtain this interview with you. Really, however, I had no choice. You are closely watched, and I did not

wish the persons who had set spies on you to have any knowledge of this conference."

"Yes, by a certain La Candele, as sharp a fellow at that kind of work as you could find in Paris. Are you

"You thought," he said, "that you had succeeded in throwing them off the scent. So I had imagined this

morning, when I saw you in your present disguise. But permit me, my dear M. Andre, to assure you that there

is great room for improvement in it. I admit that a first attempt is always to be looked on leniently; but it did

not deceive La Candele, and even at this distance I can plainly see your whole makeup; and what I can see, of

"Why on earth," asked he, "should you daub all this color on your face, which makes you look like an Indian

warrior in his warpaint? Only two colors are necessary to change the whole facered and black at the

eyebrows, the nostrils, and the corners of the mouth. Look here"; and taking from his pocket a gold

As soon as he had finished, Andre went up to the mirror over the chimneypiece, and was surprised at the

"Now," said the strange gentleman, "you see the futility of your attempts. La Candele knew you at once. I

wished to speak to you; so I sent for Palot, one of my men, and instructed him to pick a quarrel with you. The

policemen arrested you, and we have met without any one being at all the wiser. Be kind enough to efface my

Andre obeyed, and as he rubbed away with the corner of his handkerchief, he vainly sought for some

The man with the gold spectacles had resumed his seat, and was refreshing himself with a pinch of snuff.

"And now," resumed he, "we will, if you please, have a little talk together. As you see, I know you. Doctor

Loulleux tells me that he knows no one so highminded and amiable as yourself. He declares that your honor

"Pray let me go on. M. Gandelu says that he would trust you with all he possessed, while all your comrades,

with Vignol at their head, have the greatest respect and regard for you. So much for the present. As for your

future, two of the greatest ornaments of the artistic world say that you will one day occupy a very high place

"Unfortunately," he went on, "my information ends here, for the means of inquiry possessed by the police are,

of course, very limited. They can only act upon facts, not on intentions, and so long as these are not displayed

in open acts, the hands of the police are tied. It is only fortyeight hours since I heard of you for the first

time, and I have already your biography in my pocket. I hear that the day before yesterday you were dining

with M. de BreulhFaverlay, and that this morning you were walking with young Gandelu, and that La

He paused, and cast a keen glance upon Andre, then, in a slow and measured voice, he continued,

"But no one has been able to tell me why you dogged Verminet's footsteps, or why you went to Mascarin's

house, or why, finally, you disguised yourself to keep a watch on the movements of the most honorable the

Marquis de Croisenois. It is the motive that we cannot arrive at, for the facts are perfectly clear."

Andre fidgeted uneasily in his chair beneath the spell of those magnetic glasses, which seemed to draw the

"I cannot tell you, sir," faltered he at last, "for the secret is not mine to divulge."

"You will not trust me? Well, then, I must speak. Remember, all that I have told you was the account of what

I knew positively; but, in addition to this, I have drawn my own inferences. You are watching De Croisenois

"We assume, therefore, that you wish to prevent this marriage; and why, pray? I have heard that

Mademoiselle de Mussidan was formerly engaged to M. de BreulhFaverlay. How comes it that the Count

and Countess de Mussidan prefer a ruined spendthrift to a wealthy and strictly honorable man? It is for you to

answer this question. It is perfectly plain to me that they hand over their daughter to De Croisenois under

pressure of some kind, and that means that a terrible secret exists with which Croisenois threatens them."

"Your deduction is wrong, sir," exclaimed Andre eagerly, "and you are quite wrong."

"Very good," was the calm reply. "Your emphatic denial shows that I am in the right. I want no further

proofs. M. de Mussidan paid you a visit yesterday, and one of my agents reported that his face was much

happier on leaving you than when he was on his way to your house. I therefore infer that you promised to

release him from Croisenois' persecutions, and in return he promised you his daughter's hand in marriage.

This, of course, explains your present disguise, and now tell me again that I am wrong, if you dare."

"And now," continued the gentleman, "how about the secret? Did not the Count tell it you? I do not know it;

and yet I think that if I were to search for it, I could find it. I can call to my mind certain crimes which three

generations of detective have striven to find out. Did you ever hear that De Croisenois had an elder brother

named George, who disappeared in a most wonderful manner? What became of him? This very George,

twentythree years back, was a friend of Madame de Mussidan's. Might not his disappearance have

The vanity of the great detective was much flattered when he saw the impression that his name had produced.

"And now, my dear M. Andre," said he blandly, "now that you know who I am, may I not hope that you will

M. de Mussidan had not told his secret to the young artist, but he had said enough for him to feel that the

"Surely," continued Lecoq, "we ought to be able to come to a more definite understanding, and I think that

my openness should elicit some frankness on your side. I saw that you were watched by the very person that I

was watching. For three days my men have followed you, and today I made up my mind that you could

"For many years," continued Lecoq, "I have been certain that an organized association of blackmailers exists

in Paris; family differences, sin, shame, and sorrow are worked by these wretches like veritable gold mines,

"Of course, when I was quite sure of these facts," continued Lecoq, "I said to myself, "I will break up this

gang"; but it was easier said than done. There is one very peculiar thing about blackmailing. Those who carry

it on are almost certain of doing so with impunity, for the victims will pay and not complain. Yes, I tell you

that I have often found out these unhappy pigeons, but never could get one to speak."

The detective was so indignant and acrimonious withal in his indignation, that Andre could not repress a

"Very soon," continued Lecoq, "I recognized the futility of my attempts, and the impossibility of reaching

these scoundrels through their victims, and then I determined to strike at the plunderers themselves, but this

was a scheme that took patience and time. I have waited my chance for three years, and for eighteen months

one of my men has been in the service of the Marquis de Croisenois, and up to now this band of villains has

cost the government over ten thousand francs. That superlative scoundrel, Mascarin, has put several white

threads in my hair. I believe him to be Tantaine; yes, and Martin Rigal too. The idea of there being a means

of communication between the banker's house in the Rue Montmartre and the Servants' Registry Office in the

Rue Montorgueil only came into my head this morning. But this time they have gone too far, and I have

them. I know them all, from the chief, MascarinTantaineRigal, down to their lowest agent, Toto Chupin,

and Paul Violaine, the docile puppet of their will. We will get hold of the whole gang, and neither Van

Klopen nor Catenac will escape. Just now the latter is travelling about with the Duke de Champdoce and a

fellow named Perpignan, and two of my sweet lads are close upon them, and send in almost hourly reports of

what is going on. My trap has a tempting bait, the spring is strong, and we shall catch every one of them. And

now do you still hesitate to confide all you know to me? I swear on my honor that I will respect as sacred

Andre yielded, as did every person who came under the influence of this remarkable man and his strange and

inexplicable fascination. If he hid anything from him today, would not Lecoq be acquainted with it

tomorrow? And so, with the most perfect frankness, he told his story and everything that he knew.

"Now," cried Lecoq, "I see it all clearly. Aha, they want to force young Gandelu to disappear with Rose, do

Beneath his goldrimmed spectacles his eyes flashed fiercely. He seemed to be occupied in drawing out his

"From this moment," said he, "be at ease. In another month Mademoiselle de Mussidan shall be your wife;

He paused for an instant, as though to collect his thoughts, and then continued,

"I can answer for all, except for your life. So many are interested in your disappearance from this world, that

every effort will be made to get rid of you. Do not cease your caution for an instant. Never eat twice running

at the same restaurant, throw away food that has the slightest strange taste. Avoid crowds in the street; do not

get into a cab; never lean from a window before ascertaining that its supports are solid; in a word, fear and

"I thought so; yes, I was almost certain of it," said Lecoq thoughtfully; and as he conducted the young man to

the door, he took leave of him with the same words that Mascarin had often used to Paul,

At these last words Andre turned round, but the door closed, and he heard the key grate in the lock. He passed

through the outer office, where the superintendent, his two clerks, and his late adversary all seemed to gaze

What did those last words of Lecoq mean? He was a foundling, it is true; but what foundling has not had lofty

aspirations, and felt that, for all he knew, he might be the scion of some noble house.

As soon as Lecoq thought that the coast was clear, he opened the door, and called the agent, Palot.

"My lad," said the great man, "you saw that young man who went out just now? He is a noble fellow, full of

Palot made a gesture signifying that henceforth his late antagonist was as something sacred in his eyes.

"You will be his shadow," pursued Lecoq, "and keep near enough to him to rush to his aid at a moment of

danger. That gang, of which Mascarin is the head, want his life. You are my righthand man, and I trust him

to you. I have warned him, but youth is rash; and you will scent danger where he would never dream that it

lurked. If there is any peril, dash boldly forward, but endeavor to let no one find out who you are. If you must

speak to himbut only do so at the last extremitywhisper my name in his ear, and he will know you have

come from me. Remember, you are answerable for him; but change your face. La Candele and the others

must not recognize in you the wineshop bully; that would spoil all. What have you on under that blouse, a

Palot pulled out a small parcel from his pocket, from which he extracted a red beard and wig, and, going to

the mirror, adjusted them with dexterous activity; and, in a few minutes, went up to his master, who was

"Somewhere near Mascarin's den, for I advised him not to give up playing the spy too suddenly."

Palot was off like the wind, and when he reached the Rue Montmartre, he caught sight of the person who had

Andre was walking slowly along, thinking of Lecoq's cautions, when a young man, with his arm in a sling,

overtook him, going in the same direction as he was. Andre was sure that it was Paul, and as he knew that he

could not be recognized, he passed him in his turn, and saw that it was indeed the Paul so much regretted by

He followed, and saw him enter the house of M. Rigal. Two women were gossiping near the door, and Andre

Paul, therefore, was to marry the daughter of the chief of the gang. Should he tell Lecoq this? But, of course,

Time was passing, and Andre felt that he had but little space to gain the house that Gandelu was building in

He found all the workmen there, and not one of them recognized him when he asked for Vignol.

The chief part of the ornamental work was in front, and it was there that the little hut which Tantaine had

pointed out to Toto Chupin was erected. Vignol was in it, and was utterly surprised when Andre made

"It is nothing," returned the young man cautiously, as Vignol paused for an explanation; "only a little love

"Do you expect to win a girl's heart by making such a guy of yourself?" asked his friend with a laugh.

"Hush! I will explain matters later on. Can you give me shelter for a night or two?"

He stopped himself, turned terribly pale, and listened intently. He fancied he had heard a woman's scream,

Quick as lightning Andre rushed to the window, opened it, and leaned out to discover from whence those

The young miscreant, Toto Chupin, had too fatally earned the note with which Tantaine had bribed him. The

whole of the front of the window gave way with a loud crash, and Andre was hurled into space.

The hut was at least sixty feet from the pavement, and the fall was the more appalling because the body of

Andre struck some of the intervening scaffolding first, and thence bounced off, until the unhappy young man

Nearly three hundred persons in the Champs Elysees witnessed this hideous sight; for, at Vignol's cry, every

one had stopped, and, frozen with horror, had not missed one detail of the grim tragedy.

In an instant a crowd was collected round the poor, inert mass of humanity which lay motionless in a pool of

blood. But two workmen, roused by Vignol's shrieks, were soon on the spot, and pushed their way through

the crowd of persons who were gazing with a morbid curiosity on the man who had fallen from a height of

Andre gave no sign of life. His face was dreadfully bruised, his eyes were closed, and a stream of blood

"Let us take him to the Hospital Beaujon!" exclaimed Vignol. "We are close by there."

An ambulance was speedily procured, and the workmen, placing their insensible friend carefully in it, asked

One curious event had excited the attention of some of the lookers on. Just as Andre fell, a /commissaire/ had

rushed forward and seized a woman. She was one of the class of unfortunates who frequent the Champs

Elysees, and she it was who had uttered the cry that had lured Andre to destruction. The woman made an

"Not a word," said he sternly. The wretched creature seemed in abject terror, and obeyed him.

"No, it is true; a gentleman came up to me, and said, 'Madame, if you will cry out now, Andre, it is Iyour

Sabine; help! I will give you two louis.' Of course I agreed. He gave me the fifty francs, and I did as he asked

"He was tall, old, and very shabby and dirty, with glasses on. I never set eyes on him before."

"Do you know," returned the /commissaire/ sternly, "that the words you have uttered have caused the death of

"Take her to the stationhouse," said he, "and do not lose sight of her, for she will be a most important

"What the woman says is true," muttered Palot. "She did not know what she was doing, and it was Tantaine

that gave her the two coins. He shall pay for this; but certainly, if the whole gang are collared, it won't bring

He had, however, not much time for reflection, for he had to gather up every link of evidence. How was it

that this accident had occurred? The frame of the window had fallen out with Andre, and lay in fragments on

the pavement. He picked up one of the pieces, and at once saw what had been done; the woodwork had been

sawed almost in two, and the putty with which the marks of the cuts had been concealed still clung to the

wood. Palot called one of the workmen, who appeared to be more intelligent than his fellows, pointed out the

marks to him, and bade him gather up the fragments and put them in some place of security. This duty being

accomplished, Palot joined the crowd; but he was too late, for Andre had been taken away to the hospital. He

looked around to see if there was any one from whom he could gain information, and suddenly perceived on

a bench some one whom he had often followed. It was Toto Chupin, no longer clad in the squalid rags of a

day or two back. He was dressed in gorgeous array, but his face was livid, his eyes wild, and his lips kept

moving convulsively, for he was a victim to a novel sensationthe pangs of remorseand was meditating

whether he should not go to the nearest policestation and give himself up, so that he might revenge himself

on Tantaine, who had made him a murderer. For a moment the idea of arresting Toto passed through Palot's

"No; that would never do. We should risk losing the whole gang. Besides, he can't get away. I may even have

committed an error in arresting that woman. My master will say that I am not to be trusted. He placed one of

his friends in my charge, and this is what has happened. I knew that the young man's life was in deadly peril,

and yet I let him enter a house in the course of erection; why, I might as well have cut his throat myself."

In a terrible state of anxiety, Palot presented himself at the hospital, and asked for the young man who had

"You mean Number 17?" returned one of the assistantsurgeons. "He is in a most critical state; we fear

It was two days before Andre recovered consciousness. It was midnight when he first woke again to the

realities of life. At a glance he guessed where he was. He felt pain when he endeavored to turn over, but he

He tried to think, but he was weak, and thoughts would not come at his command, and in a few seconds he

dropped off to sleep again; and when he awoke, it was broad day; the ward was full of life and motion, for it

was the hour of the house surgeon's visit. He was a young man still, with a cheerful face, followed by the

band of students. He went from bed to bed, explaining cases, and cheering up the sufferers. When Andre's

turn came, the surgeon told him that his shoulder was put out, his arm broken in two places, a bad cut on his

head, while his body was one mass of bruises; but, for all that, he was in luck to have got off so easily. Andre

listened to him with but a vague understanding of his meaning, for, with the return of reason, the

remembrance of Sabine had come, and he asked himself what would become of her while he was confined to

his bed in the hospital. As this thought passed through his mind, he uttered a faint groan. One of the students,

a stout person, with red whiskers, a white tie, and a rather shabby hat, who looked as if he had just arrived

from the country, stepped up to his bed, and leaning over the patient, murmured, "Lecoq." Andre opened his

"Hush, who knows who is watching us? I come to give your mind ease, which will do you more good than all

the doctor's stuff. Without in any way committing you, I have seen M. de Mussidan, and have furnished him

with a valid excuse for postponing his daughter's marriage for another month. You must remain here; you

could not be in a place of greater security; but even here you cannot be too cautious. Eat nothing that is no

given you by some one who utters the word 'Lecoq.' M. Gandelu will certainly call to see you. If you want to

see or write to me, the patient on your right will manage that; he is one of my men. You shall have news

"Ah," murmured Lecoq, as he moved softly away, "is not hope the true secret of life and happiness?"

M. Lecoq enjoined prudence and caution on Andre, and the utmost care on the part of his agents, because he

was fully aware of the skill and cunning of the adversary with whom he had to cope.

He could now prove that the head of this association, the man who concealed his identity under a threefold

personality, was the instigator of a murder. But he did not intend to make use of this discovery at once, for he

had sworn that he would take the whole gang, and his proceedings had been so carefully conducted that his

victims did not for a moment suspect the net that was closing around them. The day after the accident to

Andre, Mascarin sent an anonymous communication to the head of the police, giving up Toto as the author of

"Of course," thought this wily plotter, "Toto will denounce Tantaine, but that worthy man is dead and buried,

and I think that even the sharpest agents of the police will be unable to effect his resurrection."

Mascarin had carefully consumed in a large fire every particle of the tattered garments that Tantaine had been

in the habit of wearing, and laughed merrily as he watched the columns of sombre smoke roll upwards.

"Look for him as much as you please," laughed he. "Old Daddy Tantaine has flown up the chimney."

The next business was to suppress Mascarin; this was a more difficult operation. Few would care to inquire

about Tantaine, but Mascarin was well known as the head of a prosperous business; his disappearance would

create a sensation, and the police would take up the matter. His best course would be to conduct matters

openly, and sell his business on the plea of family affairs causing him to retire. He easily found a purchaser,

The night before handing over the business to his successor Mascarin had much to do. Assisted by

Beaumarchef, he carried into Martin Rigal's private office the papers with which the Registry Office was

crammed. This removal was effected by means of a door marked by a panel between Mascarin's office and

the banker's private room; and when the last scrap of paper had been removed, Mascarin pointed out a heap

It was a long and wearisome task, but it was at length completed, and by rubbing soot and dust over the new

work it lost its appearance of freshness. The evening before Beaumarchef had received twelve thousand

francs on the express condition that he would start at once for America, and the leavetaking between him

and the master he had so faithfully served was a most affecting one. He knew hardly anything of the

diabolical plots going on around him, and was the only innocent person in that house of crime.

Mascarin was in haste to depart; he had annihilated Tantaine in order to free himself from Toto. Mascarin

was about to disappear, and he contemplated retaining his third personality, and in it to pass away the

remainder of his life honored and respected; but he must first induct his successor into his business; and he

went through the books with him, and explained all the practical working of the machinery. This took him

nearly all day, and it was getting late when his luggage was put on a cab which he had in waiting. A new

Knowing that he must carry out the deception completely, Mascarin drove to the western railway station, and

took a ticket for Rouen. He felt rather uncomfortable, for he feared that he was being watched, and he made

up his mind not to leave a single trace behind him. At Rouen he abandoned his luggage, which he had taken

care should afford no clue as to ownership, he also relinquished his beard and spectacles, and returned to

Paris as the wellknown banker, Martin Rigal, the pretty Flavia's father, having, as he thought, obliterated

Mascarin as completely as he had done Tantaine; but he had not noticed in the train with him a very dark

young man with piercing eyes, who looked like the traveller of some respectable commercial firm. As soon as

he reached his home, and had tenderly embraced his daughter, he went to the private room of Martin Rigal,

and opened it with the key that never left his person, and then gazed at a large rough mass of brickwork

which disfigured one side of the room, and which was the remains of the wall that erewhile had been so

He picked up the bits of brick and plaster that lay on the floor, and threw them into the fire, and then pushed a

large screen in front of the rough brickwork. He had just finished his work when Hortebise entered the room,

"Now, you unbeliever," cried Mascarin gaily, "is not fortune within our grasp? Tantaine and Mascarin are

dead, or rather, they never existed. Beaumarchef is on his way to America, La Candele will be in London in a

"Pooh, pooh! we have nothing more to fear, as you would have known had you gone into the case as

thoroughly as I have done. Who was the enemy whom we had most need to dread? Why, Andre. He certainly

is not dead, but he is laid up for some weeks, and that is enough. Besides, he has given up the game, for one

of my men who managed to get into the hospital says that he has not received a visitor or dispatched a letter

"He has his son's affairs to look after and there is no one else of any consequence."

"Oh! he has yielded to Tantaine's winning power, and has made it up with Rose, and the turtle doves have

But the doctor was still dissatisfied. "I am uneasy about the Mussidans," said he.

"And pray why? De Croisenois has been very well received. I don't say that Mademoiselle Sabine has exactly

jumped into his arms, but she thanks him every evening for the flowers he sends in the morning, and you

"Besides," he added, "everything is going on well, even our Tafila mines. I have taxed our people, according

to their means, from one to twenty thousand francs, and we are certain of a million."

The doctor rubbed his hands, and a delicious prospect of enjoyments stretched out before him.

"I have seen Catenac," continued Martin Rigal. "He has returned from Vendome, and the Duke de

Champdoce is wild with hope and expectation, and is on the path which he thinks will take him to his son."

"Perpignan is just as much a dupe as the Duke is; he thinks absolutely that he has discovered all the clues that

I myself placed on his road. Before, however, they have quite concluded their investigations, Paul will be my

daughter's husband and Flavia the future Duchess of Champdoce, with an income that a monarch might

He paused, for there was a light tap on the door, and Flavia entered. She bowed to the doctor, and, with the

graceful movement of a bird, perched herself upon her father's knee, and, throwing her arms round his neck,

"This is a very nice little preface," said the banker with a forced smile. "The favor is granted in advance, for,

The girl shook her head, and returned in the tone of one addressing a naughty child,

"Oh, you bad papa! Am I in the habit of selling my kisses? I am sure that I have only to ask and to have."

"I came to tell you that dinner was ready, and that Paul and I are both very hungry; and I only kissed you

because I loved you; and if I had to choose a father again, out of the whole it would be you."

"No," returned she with charming simplicity, "not for so longnearly for fifteen days perhaps."

"And yet it is more than a month since the good doctor brought a certain young man to dinner."

"Ah! that is the secret; but I will tell it you for all that. It is only within the last fortnight that I have found out

how really good you have been, and how much trouble you took in bringing Paul to me; but to think that you

should have to put on those ugly old clothes, that nasty beard and those spectacles."

At these words the banker started so abruptly to his feet that Flavia nearly fell to the ground.

"Do you suppose a daughter does not know her father? You might deceive others, but I"

"Do you mean to tell me," asked she, "that you did not come to Paul's rooms the day I was there?"

"No, I will not; you must not tell me fibs. I am not a fool; and when you went out with the doctor, I listened at

the door, and I heard a few words you said; and that isn't all, for when I got here, I hid myself and I saw you

"Of course I do not count Paul," continued the girl, "for he is the same as myself."

"Unhappy child!" exclaimed the banker in so furious a voice, and with such a threatening gesture of the hand,

"What have I done?" asked she, the tears springing to her eyes. "I only said to Paul that we should be terribly

ungrateful if we did not worship him; for you don't know what he does for us. Why, he even dresses up in

"Paul? Oh, nothing for a moment. Then he cried out, 'I see it all now,' and laughed as if he would have gone

"Did you not understand, my poor child, what this laugh means? Paul thinks that you have been my

accomplice, and believes that it was in obedience to your orders that I went to look for him."

"A man like Paul never loves a woman who has run after him; and no matter how great her beauty may be,

will always consider that she has thrown herself in his path. He will accept all her devotion, and make no

more return than a stone or a wooden idol would do. You cannot see this, and God grant that it may be long

before the bandage is removed from your eyes. Can you not read the quality of this foolish boy, who has not a

"Enough!" she cried, "enough! I am not such a coward as to allow you to insult my husband."

He shuddered at the thought that his words might cost him his daughter's love, but Hortebise interposed by

putting his arm round Flavia's waist and leading her from the room. When he returned, he observed,

"I cannot understand your anger. It seems to me that all recrimination is most indiscreet, for you can at any

"Do you think it is nothing for me to be at the mercy of that cowardly wretch, Paul?"

"Not more so than you are by the foolish weakness of your daughter. Is not Paul our accomplice? And are we

any more compromised because he has discovered the secret of your triple personality?"

"Ah! you have not a father's feelings. Up till now Paul did not know that I was Mascarin, and believed me to

be the victim of blackmailers. As a dupe he respected me, as an accomplice he will scorn me. This disastrous

Paul and Flavia's marriage took place at the end of the next week, and Paul left his simple bachelor abode to

take possession of the magnificent suite of rooms prepared for him by the banker in his house in the Rue

Montmartre. The change was great, but Paul was no longer surprised at anything. He did not feel the faintest

tinge of remorse; he only feared one thing, and that was that by some blunder he might compromise his

future, when the eventful day arrived which would give him the social position and standing of heir to a

When, however, the Duke de Champdoce came, accompanied by Perpignan, the young imposter rose to the

level of his masters, and played his part with most consummate skill. The Duke, whose life had been one long

scene of misery, and who had so cruelly expiated the sins of his youth, seemed to have become suddenly

lenient; and had Paul obeyed him, he would at once have established himself with his young wife at the Hotel

de Champdoce, but Martin Rigal put a veto upon this, for he was not quite satisfied that his soninlaw was

really the heir to the Champdoce dukedom; and finally it was agreed that the Duke should come to breakfast

the next morning and take away Paul. Eleven was the hour fixed, but the Duke appeared at the banker's house

at ten, where he, Catenac, Hortebise, and Paul were assembled together in solemn conclave.

"Now, papa," said Flavia, who kept her father on thorns by her gay and frolicsome criticisms, "you will no

longer blame me for falling in love with a poor Bohemian, for you see that he is a Champdoce, and that his

The Duke was now seated on the sofa, holding the hand of the young man whom he believed to be his son

tightly in his. The Duchess, to whom he had given a hint of what was going on, had been taken seriously ill

from overexcitement, but had recovered herself a little, and the Duke was describing this when he was

suddenly interrupted by a series of full and heavy blows struck upon the other side of the wall of the room. A

pickaxe was evidently at work. The whole house was shaken by the violence of the attack, and a screen,

The plotters gazed upon each other with pale and terrorstricken faces, for it was evident that the fresh brick

wall, the work of Mascarin and Beaumarchef, was being destroyed. The Duke sat in perfect amazement, for

the alarm of his host and his friends was plainly evident. He could feel Paul's hand tremble in his, but could

not understand why work evidently going on in the next house could cause such feelings of alarm. Flavia was

the only one who had no suspicion, and she remarked, "Dear me! I should like to know the meaning of this

"I will send and inquire," said her father; but scarcely had he opened the door than he retreated with a wild

expression of terror in his face, and his arms stretched out in front of him, as though to bar the approach of

some terrible spectre. In the doorway stood an eminently respectablelooking gentleman, wearing a pair of

goldrimmed spectacles, and behind him a commissary of police, girt with his official scarf, while farther

"M. Lecoq," cried the three confederates in one breath, while through their minds flashed the same terrible

The celebrated detective advanced slowly into the room, curiously watching the group collected there. There

"Aha!" he said, "I was right, it seems. I was sure that I was making no mistake in rapping at the other side of

By this time, however, the banker had, to all outward appearance, regained his selfcommand.

"What do you want here?" asked he insolently. "What is the meaning of this intrusion?"

"This gentleman will explain," returned Lecoq, stepping aside to make way for the commissary of police to

come forward. "But, to shorten matters, I may tell you that I have obtained a warrant for your arrest, Martin

"Indeed. Do you think that Tantaine has cleaned his hands so completely that not a drop of Andre's blood

A bland smile passed over Lecoq's face as, drawing a folded letter from his pocket, he answered,

"Perhaps you are acquainted with the handwriting of your daughter. Well, then, listen to what she wrote not

"Enough! Enough!" cried the banker in a hoarse voice. "Lost, lost, lost! My own child has been my ruin!"

The calmest of the conspirators was now the one who was generally the first to take alarm, and this was the

genial Doctor Hortebise. When he recognized Lecoq, he had gently opened his locket and taken from it a

small pellet of grayishcolored paste, and, holding it between his fingers, had waited until his leader should

Catenac, perhaps owing to his legal training, made no reply to Lecoq, but addressing the commissary,

"The warrant is quite regular," returned the commissary. "You can see it if you desire."

"No, it is not necessary. I will only ask you to conduct me to the magistrate who issued it, and in five minutes

"Do you think so?" asked Lecoq in a quiet tone of sarcasm. "You have not heard, I can see, of what took

place yesterday. A laborer, in the course of his work, discovers the remains of a newlyborn infant, wrapped

in a silk handkerchief and a shawl. The police soon set inquiries on foot, and have found the mothera girl

Had not Lecoq suddenly grasped Catenac's arm, the lawyer would have flown at Martin Rigal's throat.

He now saw that the blows struck upon the other side of the wall were merely a trick, for Lecoq had thought

"I belong to a respectable family," thought he, "and I will not bring dishonor upon it. I have no time to lose."

As he spoke he placed the contents of the locket between his lips and swallowed them.

"Ah," murmured he, as he did so, "with my constitution and digestion, it is really hard to end thus."

No one had noticed the doctor's movements, for Lecoq had moved the screen, and was showing the

commissary a hole which had been made in the wall large enough for the body of a man to pass through. But

a sudden sound cut these investigations short, for Hortebise had fallen to the ground, and was struggling in a

"How stupid of me not to have foreseen this," exclaimed Lecoq. "He has poisoned himself; let some one run

While these orders were being carried out, Catenac was removed to a cab which was in waiting, and Martin

Rigal seemed to have lapsed into a state of moody imbecility. Suddenly he started to his feet, crying,

"My daughter Flavia! yes, her name is Flavia, what is to become of her? She has no fortune, and she is

married to a man who can never provide for her. My child will perhaps starve. Oh, horrible thought!"

The man's strong mind had evidently given way, and his love for his child and the hideous future that lay

before her had broken down the barrier that divides reason from insanity. He was secured by the officers,

raving and struggling. When Lecoq was left alone with the Duke, Paul and Flavia, he cast a glimpse of pity at

the young girl, who had crouched down in a corner, and evidently hardly understood the terrible scene that

"Your Grace," said he, turning to the Duke, "you have been the victim of a foul conspiracy; this young man is

not your son; he is Paul Violaine, and is the son of a poor woman who kept a petty haberdashery shop in the

The miserable young fool began to bluster, and attempted to deny this statement; but Lecoq opened the door,

and Rose appeared in a most becoming costume. Paul now made no effort to continue his protestations, but

throwing himself on his knees, in whining accents confessed the whole fraud and pleaded for mercy,

"Do not despair, your Grace," said Lecoq, as he conducted the Duke to his carriage; "this certainly is not your

son; but /I/ have found him, and tomorrow, if you like, you shall be introduced to him."

Obedient to the wishes of M. Lecoq, Andre resigned himself to a lengthy sojourn at the Hospital de Beaujon,

and had even the courage to affect that state of profound indifference that had deceived Mascarin. The

pretended sick man in the next bed to his told him all that had taken place, but the days seemed to be

interminable, and he was beginning to lose patience, when one morning he received a letter which caused a

gleam of joy to pass through his heart. "All is right," wrote Lecoq. "Danger is at an end. Ask the house

surgeon for leave to quit the hospital. Dress yourself smartly. You will find me waiting at the doors.L."

Andre was not quite convalescent, for he might have to wear his arm in a sling for many weeks longer; but

these considerations did not deter him. He now dressed himself in a suit which he had sent for to his rooms,

He stood upon the steps inhaling deep draughts of the fresh air, and then began to wonder where the strange

personage was to whom he owed his life. While he was deliberating what to do, an open carriage drew up

"You have come at last," exclaimed Andre, rushing up to the gentleman who alighted from it. "I was getting

"I am about five minutes late," returned Lecoq; "but I was detained," and then, as Andre began to pour out his

Andre obeyed, and as he did so, he detected something strange in the expression of his companion's face.

"What!" remarked Lecoq, "do you see by my face that I have something to tell you? You are getting quite a

keen observer. Well, I have, indeed, for I have passed the night going through Mascarin's papers, and I have

just gone through a painful sceneI may say, one of the most painful that I have ever witnessed. The

intellect of Mascarin," said he, "has given way under the tremendous pressure put upon it. The ruling passion

of the villain's life was his love for his daughter. He imagines that Flavia and Paul are without a franc and in

want of bread; he thinks that he continually hears his daughter crying to him for help. Then, on his knees, he

entreats the warder to let him out, if only for a day, swearing that he will return as soon as he has succored his

child. Then, when his prayer is refused, he bursts into a frenzied rage and tears at his door, howling like an

infuriated animal; and this state may last to the end of his life, and every minute in it be a space of intolerable

torture. Doctor Hortebise is dead; but the poison upon which he relied betrayed him, and he suffered agonies

for twentyfour hours. Catenac will fight to the bitter end, but the proofs are against him, and he will be

convicted of infanticide. In Rigal's papers I have found evidence against Perpignan, Verminet and Van

Klopen, who will all certainly hear something about penal servitude. Nothing has been settled yet about Toto

"His Company will be treated like any other attempt to extort money by swindling, and the Marquis will be

sent to prison for two months, and the money paid for shares returned to the dupes, and that, I think, is all that

I have to tell you, except that by tomorrow M. Gandelu will receive back the bills to which his son affixed a

forged signature. And now," continued Lecoq, after a short pause, "the time has come for me to tell you why,

at our first interview, I saluted you as the heir of the Duke de Champdoce. I had guessed your history, but it

Then the detective gave a brief but concise account of the manuscript that Paul had read aloud. He did not tell

much, however, but passed lightly over the acts of the Duke de Champdoce and Madame de Mussidan, for he

did not wish Andre to cease to respect either his father or the mother of Sabine. The story was just concluded

"And now," went on Lecoq, "listen to me. The Count and Countess de Mussidan expect you to breakfast and

here is the note they handed to me for you. Come back to your studio by four o'clock, and I will then

Andre was completely bewildered with his unexpected happiness. He walked instinctively to the Hotel de

Mussidan and rang the bell. The intense civility of the footmen removed any misgivings that he might have

left, and, as he entered the diningroom, he darted back, for face to face with him was the portrait of Sabine

which he had himself painted. At that moment the Count came forward to meet him with extended hands.

"Diana," said he to his wife, "this is our daughter's future husband." He then took Sabine's hand, which he

The young artist hardly dared raise his eyes to Sabine's face; when he did so, his heart grew very sad, for the

Andre had the greatest difficulty in refraining from telling his secret to his beloved, and it was with even

He had not been five minutes in his studio when there was a knock at the door, and Lecoq entered, followed

by an elderly gentleman of aristocratic and haughty appearance. It was the Duke of Champdoce.

"This gentleman," said the Duke, with a gesture of his hand towards Lecoq, "will have told you that certain

circumstances rendered it expedient, according to my ideas, that I should not acknowledge you as my heir,

but my son. The fault that I then committed has been cruelly expiated. I am not fortyeight; look at me."

"My sins," continued the Duke, "still pursue me. Today, in spite of all my desires, I cannot claim you as my

legitimate son, for the law only permits me to give you my name and fortune by exercising the right of

"You can certainly institute proceedings against me for the recovery of your rights, but"

"Ah!" interrupted the young man, "really, what sort of person do you think I am? Do you believe me capable

The Duke drew a deep breath of relief. Andre's manner had checked and restrained him, for it was frigid and

glacial to a degree. What a difference there was between the haughty mien of Andre and the gushing

"Yes. I do not like to use the word 'conditions,' but I think that you will understand what I mean. My daily toil

for bread gave me neither the means nor the leisure which I required to cultivate my art, for that is a

"This is not all I had to say," he continued at last. "I love and am loved by a pure and beautiful girl; our

"I think," broke in the Duke, "that you could not love any one who was not a fit bride for a member of our

"But I did not belong to this family yesterday. Be at ease, however, for she is worthy of a Champdoce. I am

"You have no claim to exercise paternal authority over me; this can only be purchased by years of tender

care. Duke de Champdoce, I owe you nothing. Leave me to myself, as you have hitherto done, and all will be

The Duke reflected. Must he give up his son, who had been restored to him by such a series of almost

miraculous chances, or must he see him married to Diana's daughter? Either alternative appeared to him to be

"I will not yield on the point," said he. "Besides, the Countess would never give her consent. She hates me as

M. Lecoq, who had up to this moment looked on in silence, now thought it time to interpose.

"I think," remarked he blandly, "that I shall have no difficulty in obtaining the consent of Madame de

That night, Marie, Duchess de Champdoce, experienced happiness for the first time in the affection and

caresses of a son who had been so long lost to her, and seemed to throw off the heavy burden that had so

When Madame de Mussidan heard that Andre was Norbert's son, she declared that nothing could induce her

to give her consent to his marriage with her daughter; but among Mascarin's papers Lecoq had discovered the

packet containing the compromising correspondence between the Duke de Champdoce and herself. The

detective handed this over to her, and, in her gratitude, she promised to give up all further opposition to the

Andre and Sabine took up their residence after marriage at the Chateau de Mussidan, which had been

magnificently restored and decorated. They seldom leave it, for they love it for its vicinity to the leafy groves,

in which they first learned that they had given their hearts to each other. And Andre frequently points out the

unfinished work on the balcony, which was the occasion of his first visit to the Chateau de Mussidan. He says

that he will complete it as soon as he has time, but it is doubtful whether he will ever find leisure to do this

for a long time, for before the new year comes there is every chance of there being a baptism at the little