813 by Maurice Leblanc - The Map of Europe 15

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter fifteen of eight thirteen eight thirteen by Maurice le
Blin Chapter fifteen, The Map of Europe, Pierre le Duc
love Dolores. Lu Pagne felt a keen, penetrating pain in
the depths of his being, as though he had been
wounded in the very source of life, a pain so

(00:20):
great that for the first time he had a clear
perception of what Dolores had, gradually, unknown to himself, become
to him. Pierre le Duc loved Dolores, and he was
looking at her as a man looks at the woman
he loves. Lu Payne felt a murderous instinct rise up
within him. Blindly and furiously. That look, that look of
love cast upon Dolores maddened him. He received an impression

(00:44):
of the great silence that enveloped Dolores and Pierre le Duc,
And in silence, in the stillness of their attitude, there
was nothing living but that look of love, that dumb
and sensuous hymn, in which the eyes told all the passion,
all the desire, all the transport, all the yearning that
one being can feel for another. And he saw Missus
Kesselbach also. Dolores's eyes were invisible under their lord lids,

(01:07):
the silky eyelids with the long black lashes. But how
she seemed to feel that look of love which sought
for hers, How she quivered under that impalpable caress. She
loves him, She loves him, thought Loupegne, burning with jealousy,
And when Pierre made a movement, Oh, the villain, if

(01:27):
he dares to touch her, I will kill him. Then,
realizing the disorder of his reason, and striving to combat it,
he said to himself, what a fool I am? What
you Lupegne, letting yourself go like this? Look here, It's
only natural that she should love him. Yes, of course
you expected her to show a certain emotion at your arrival,

(01:48):
a certain agitation, You silly idiot. You're only a thief,
a robber, whereas he is a prince. And young Pierre
had not stirred further, but his lips moved, and it
seemed though Dolores were waking softly. Slowly, she raised her lids,
turned her head a little, and her eyes met the
young man's eyes with a look that offers itself and

(02:09):
surrenders itself, and is more intense than the most intense
of kisses. What followed. Came suddenly and unexpectedly, like a
thunderclap in three bounds, Lupeg rushed into the drawing room,
sprang upon the young man, flung him to the ground, and,
with one hand on his rival's chest, beside himself with anger.
Turning to missus Kesselbah, he cried, But don't you know

(02:30):
as in he told you the cheat, and you love him?
You love that? Does he look like a grand duke? Huh?
What a joke? He grinned and chuckled like a madman,
while Dolores gazed at him in stupefaction. He a grand duke,
here him on the fourth Grand Duke of Thibook and
Velden's a reigning sovereign, a lecturer of Trevre. But it's

(02:53):
enough to make one die of laughing. He why his
name is Beauprey, Gerard Beauprey, the lowest of ragamuffins, a
beggar whom I picked up in the gutter. A grand duke.
But it's I who made him a grand duke. Ha ha ha,
what a joke. If you had seen him cut his
little finger, he fainted three times. The milk sop Ah,

(03:13):
you allow yourself to lift your eyes to ladies and
to rebel against the master. Wait a bit, Grand Duke
ofs Fibuck and Veldens, I'll show you. He took him
in his arms like a bundle, swung him to and
fro for a moment, and pitched him through the open window.
Mind the rose trees, Grand Duke, there are thorns. When
he turned round, Dolores was close to him and looking

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at him with eyes which he had never seen in
her before, the eyes of a woman who hates and
who is incensed with rage? Could this possibly be Dolores?
The weak? Ailing Dolores, she stammered, wh what are you doing? Haw?
Dare you? And he? Then it's true? Lie t to me,

(04:00):
Lie to you, cried Lupey, grasping the humiliation which she
had suffered as a woman. Lie to you. He a
grand duke, A puppet, that's all, A puppet which I
pulled the string, an instrument which I tuned to play
upon as I chose the fool. The fool, overcome with
renewed rage, he stamped his foot and shook his fist

(04:21):
at the open window, and he began to walk up
and down the room, flinging out phrases in which all
the pent up violence of his secret thought burst forth.
A fool. Then he didn't see what I expected of him.
He did not suspect the greatness of the part he
was to play. Oh, I shall have to drive it
into his gnaudle by force, I see. Lift up your head,
you idiot. You shall be grand duke, by the grace

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of Lupene, and a reigning sovereign, with a civil list
and subjects to fleece, and a palace which Charlamagne shall
rebuild for you, and a master that shall be I
lu peg. Do you understand, you numbskull? Lift up your head,
dash it higher than that. Look up at the sky.
Remember that its firebuckan was hand for cattle lifting before
the Honzolns were ever heard of. And you are a sidebook,

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and by Jove no less, and I am here I
I lou Paine. And you shall be grand duke. I
tell you a pasteboard grand duke very well, but a
grand duke all the same, quickened with my breath and
glowing with my Ardor a puppet very well, but a
puppet that shall speak my words and make my movements,
and perform my wishes and realize my dreams. Yes, my dreams.

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He stood motionless, as though dazzled by the glory of
his conception. Then he went up to Dolores, and, sinking
his voice with a sort of mystic exultation, he said,
on my left Alsace, Lorraine, on my right Baden Wurtemburg, Bavaria,
South Germany, all those disconnected, discontented states, crushed under the

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heel of the Prussian chhlemagn but restless and ready to
throw off the yoke at any moment. Do you understand
all that a man like myself can do in the
midst of that, all the aspirations that he can kindle,
all the hatred that he can produce, all the angry
rebellion that he can inspire. In a still lower voice,
he repeated, and on my left, Alzas Lorene, do you

(06:10):
fully understand dreams? Not at all? It is the reality
of the day after tomorrow, of to morrow. Yes, I
wish it, I wish it. Oh, all that I wish
and all that I mean to do is unprecedented. Only
think at two steps from the Alsatian frontier, in the
heart of German territory, close to the old rhyme. A
little intrigue, a little genius will be enough to change

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the surface of the earth. Genius I have and despair,
and I shall be the master. I shall be the
man who directs the other. The puppet can have the
title in the honors, I shall have the power. I
shall remain in the background, no office. I will not
be a minister, not even a chamberlain. Nothing. I shall
be one of the servants in the palace. The gardener, perhaps, yes,

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the gardener. Oh, what a tremendous life to grow flowers
and alter the map of Europe. She looked at him, greedily,
dominated swayed by the strength of that man, and her
eyes expressed an admiration which she did not seek to conceal.
He put his hands on Dolores's shoulders and said, that
is my dream. Great as it is, it will be

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surpassed by the facts that I swear to you. The
Kaiser has already seen what I am good for. One
day he will find me installed in front of him,
face to face. I hold all the trumps. Valangeles will
act at my bidding. England also the game is played
and won. That is my dream. There is another one.

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He stopped. Suddenly, Dolores did not take her eyes from him,
and an infinite emotion changed every feature of her face.
A vast joy penetrated him, as he once more felt,
and clearly felt that woman's confusion in his presence. He
no longer had the sense of being to her what
he was, a thief, a robber. He was a man,
a man who loved and whose love roused unspoken feelings

(07:58):
in the depths of a friendly soul. Then he said
no more, but he lavished upon her, unuttered every known
word of love and admiration, and he thought of the
life which he might lead somewhere, not far from Valden's,
unknown and all powerful. A long silence united them. Then
she rose and said, softly, go away. I entreat you

(08:19):
to go. Pierre shall marry Genvieve. I promise you that.
But it is better that you should go, that you
should not be here. Go. Pierre shall marry Genvieve. He
waited for a moment. Perhaps he would rather have had
more definite words, but he dared not ask for anything.
And he withdrew, dazed, intoxicated and happy to obey, to

(08:40):
subject his destiny to hers. On his way to the door.
He came upon a low chair which he had to move,
but his foot knocked against something. He looked down. It
was a little pocket mirror in ebony with a gold monogram.
Suddenly he started and snatched up the mirror. The monogram
consisted of two letters interlaced an L and an M,

(09:03):
an L and an M. Louis de Malrade, he said
to himself with a shudder. He turned to Dolores. Where
does this mirror come from? Whose is it? It is
important that I should. She took it from him and
looked at it. I don't know. I never saw it
before a servant perhaps a servant, no doubt, he said,

(09:25):
but it is very odd. It is one of those coincidences.
At that moment, Genvieve entered by the other door, and,
without seeing Liupag, who was hidden by a screen, at
once exclaimed, why there's your glass, Dolores, So you have
found it after making me hunt for it all this time?
Where was it? And the girl went away saying, oh, well,
I'm very glad it's found. How upset you were? I

(09:48):
will go and tell them at once to stop looking
for it. Lupeye had not moved. He was confused and
tried in vain to understand why had Dolores not spoken
the truth? Why had she not at once said whose
the mirror was? An idea flashed across his mind, and
he asked, more or less at random, do you know
Luis de Malraich? Yes, she said, watching him as though

(10:12):
striving to guess the thoughts that beset him. He rushed
toward her in a state of intense excitement. You know him?
Who was he? Who is he? Who is he? And
why did you not tell me? Where have you known him? Speak? Answer?
I implore you, no, she said, But you must. You
must think Luis de Malraich, the murderer, the monster? Why

(10:35):
did you not tell me? She in turn placed her
hands on Nipay's shoulders, and in a firm voice declared, listen,
you must never ask me, because I shall never tell.
It is a secret which I shall take with me
to the grave, come what may. No one will ever know,
no one in the wide world, I swear it. He
stood before her for some minutes anxiously. With a confused brain.

(10:59):
He remembered steinwick silence and the old man's terror when
Upey asked him to reveal the terrible secret. Dolores also knew,
and she also refused to speak. He went out without
a word. The open air, the sense of space did
him good. He passed out through the park wall and
wandered long over the country, and he soliloquized aloud, what

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does it mean? What is happening? For months and months,
fighting hard and acting, I have been pulling the strings
of all the characters that are to help me in
the execution of my plans. And during this time I
have completely forgotten to stoop over them and see what
is going on in their hearts and brains. I do
not know Pioleduc, I do not know Genvieve, I do
not know Dolores. And I have treated them as so

(11:42):
many jumping jacks, whereas they are live persons. And to
day I am stumbling over obstacles. He stamped his foot
and cried, or for obstacles that do not exist. What
do I care for the psychological state of Genvieve of Pierre.
I will study that later at Valden's, when I have
secured their happiness. But Dolores, she knew Malraik and said nothing.

(12:05):
Why what relation united them? Was she afraid of him?
Is she afraid that he will escape from prison and
come to revenge himself for an indiscretion on her part.
At night, he went to the chalais, which he had
allotted to his own use, at the end of the park,
and dined in a very bad temper, storming at Octave,
who waited on him and who was always either too
slow or too fast. I'm sick of it. Leave me alone.

(12:28):
You're doing everything wrong. To day an this coffee, it's
not fit to drink. He pushed back his cup half full,
and for two hours walked about the park, sifting the
same ideas over and over again. At last, one suggestion
took definite shape within his mind. Malraik has escaped from prison.
He's terrifying Missus Casselbach. By this time he already knows

(12:50):
the story of the mirror from her. You're peg shrugged
his shoulders, and to night he's coming to pull my leg.
I suppose I'm talking nonsense. The best thing I can
do is to go to bed. He went to his
room undressed and got into bed. He fell asleep at once,
with a heavy sleep, disturbed by nightmares. Twice he woke
and tried to light his candle, and twice fell back

(13:12):
as though stunned by a blow. Nevertheless, he heard the
hour strike on the village clock, or rather he thought
that he heard them strike, for he was plunged in
a sort of torpor in which he seemed to retain
all his wits, and he was haunted by dreams, dreams
of anguish and terror. He plainly heard the sound of
his window opening. He plainly, through his closed eyelids, through

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the thick darkness, saw a form come toward the bed,
and the form bent over him. He made the incredible
effort needed to raise his eyelids and look, or at
least he imagined that he did. Was he dreaming? Was
he awake? He asked himself the question in despair a
further sound. He took up the box of matches by
his bedside. Let's have a light on it, he said,

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with a great sense of elation. He struck a match
and lit the candle. Dupay felt the perspiration stream over
his skin from head to foot, while his heart ceased, beating,
stopped with terror. The man was there? Was it possible? No, No,
And yet he saw, oh the fearsome sight, the man,

(14:16):
the monster was there. He shall not, he shall not,
stammered Lupayne madly. The man, the monster, was there, dressed
in black, with a mask on his face, and with
his felt hat pulled down over his fair hair. Oh
I am dreaming, I am dreaming, said Lupayne, laughing, it's

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a nightmare. Exerting all his strength and all his will power,
he tried to make a movement, one movement to drive
away the vision. He could not, and suddenly he remembered
the coffee, the taste of it similar to the taste
of the coffee which he had drunk at Valden's. He
gave a cry, made a last effort, and fell back,

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exhaust But in his delirium, he felt that the man
was unfastening the top button of his pajama jacket and
baring his neck. Felt that the man was raising his arm,
saw that the hand was clutching the handle of a dagger,
a little steel dagger similar to that which had struck Kesselbach, Chapman,
Altenheim and so many others. A few hours later, Lupeye

(15:21):
woke up, shattered with fatigue with a scorched palate. He
lay for several minutes collecting his thoughts, and suddenly, remembering,
made an instinctive defensive movement, as though he were being attacked.
Fool that I am, he cried, jumping out of bed.
It was a nightmare, a hallucination. It only needs a
little reflection. Had it been he, had it really been

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a man in flesh and blood who lifted his hand
against me last night, he would have cut my throat
like a rabbits. He doesn't hesitate. Let's be logical. Why
should he spare me for the sake of my good looks? No,
I've been dreaming, That's all. He began to whistle and
dress himself, assuming the greatest calmness, But his brain never
ceased working, and his eyes sought about on the floor,

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on the window ledge, not a trace, As his room
was on the ground floor, and as he slept with
his window open, it was evident that his assailant would
have entered that way. Well, he discovered nothing, and nothing
either at the foot of the wall outside or on
the gravel of the path that ran round the chalais
still still, he repeated between his teeth. He called, Octave,

(16:29):
where did you make the coffee which you gave me
last night? At the castle? Governor? Like the rest of
the things, there was no range here. Did you drink
any of it? No? Did you throw away what was
left in the coffee pot? Why? Yes, Governor, you said
it was so bad you only took a few mouthfuls.
Very well, get the motor ready. Relieving, Lupey was not

(16:50):
the man to remain in doubt. He wanted to have
a decisive explanation with Dolores. But for this he must
first clear up certain points that seemed to him obscure
and see Jean Duldville, who had sent him some rather
curious information from Veldenz. He drove without stopping to the
Grand Duchy, which he reached at two o'clock. He had
an interview with Count de Valdemar, whom he asked upon

(17:11):
some pretext to delay the journey of the delegates of
the regency to Bolugen. He then went in search of
Dudville in a tavern at Veldens. Doudeville took him to
another tavern, where he introduced him to a shabbily dressed
little gentleman, Herr Stockley, a clerk in the Department of birth,
Deaths and Marriages. They had a long conversation, they went
out together, and all three passed stealthily through the offices

(17:33):
of the town hall. At seven o'clock, Lupayne dined and
set out again. At ten o'clock he arrived at Boligen
Castle and asked for Genevieve so that she might take
him to missus Kesselbach's room. He was told that Mademoiselle
el Lament had been summoned back to Paris by a
telegram from her grandmother Ah. He said, could I see
missus Kesselbaugh. Missus Kesselbach went straight to bed after dinner.

(17:56):
She is sure to be asleep. No, I saw a
light in her boudoir. She will see me. He did
not even wait for Missus Casselback to send out an answer.
He walked into the boudoir, almost upon the maid's heels,
dismissed her, and said to Dolores, I have to speak
to you, madame, on an urgent matter. Forgive me. I
confess that my behavior must seem importunate, but you will understand.

(18:17):
I am sure. He was greatly excited and did not
seem much disposed to put off the explanation, especially as
before entering the room he thought he heard a sound.
Yet Dolores was alone and lying down, and she said
in her tired voice, Perhaps we might tomorrow, he did
not answer, suddenly struck by a smell that surprised him

(18:38):
in that boudoir, a smell of tobacco, And at once
he had the intuition the certainty that there was a
man there at the moment when he himself arrived, and
that perhaps the man was there still hidden somewhere. Pierre
lu duc No, Pier lu Duke did not smoke. Then who,
Dolores murmured, be quick, please, yes, yes, But first, would

(19:02):
it be possible for you to tell me? He interrupted himself.
What was the use of asking her? If there were
really a man in hiding, which you be likely to tell?
Then he made up his mind, and, trying to overcome
the sort of timid constraint that oppressed him at the
sense of a strange presence, he said, in a very
low voice, so that Dolores alone should hear. Listen. I

(19:23):
have learnt something which I do not understand, and which
perplexes me greatly. You will answer me, will you not, Dolores?
He spoke her name with great gentleness, and as though
he were trying to master her, by the note of
love and affection in his voice. What have you learned,
she asked. The register of burghs at Veldenz contains three
names which are those of the last descendants of the

(19:44):
family of Malrach, which settled in Germany. Yes, you have
told me all that you remember. The first name is
Raoul de Malraich, better known under his alias of Altenheim,
the scoundrel, the swell hooligan, now dead murdered. Yes. Next
comes Louis de Marrafe, the monster, this one, the terrible murderer,

(20:06):
who will be beheaded in a few days from now. Yes.
Then lastly Isilda, the mad daughter. Yes. So all that
is quite positive, is it not? Yes, well, said Lupeye,
leaning over her more closely than before. I have just
made an investigation which showed to me that the second

(20:27):
of the three Christian names, or rather a part of
the line on which it is written, has at some
point or rather been subjected to erasure. The line is
written over in a new hand with much fresher ink,
but the writing below is not quite effaced. So that
so that asked missus Kesselback in a low voice. So
that with a good lens, and particularly with the special

(20:50):
methods which I have at my disposal, I was able
to revive some of the obliterated syllables, and without any
possibility of a mistake, in all certainty to read construct
the old writing. I then found not Luis de Malhei,
but oh, don't don't. Suddenly, shattered by the strain of
her prolonged effort of resistance, she lay bent in two,

(21:13):
and with her head in her hands, her shoulders shaken
with convulsive sobs, she wept. Lupaye looked for long seconds
at this weak and listless creature, so pitifully helpless, and
he would have liked to stop, to cease the torturing
questions which he was inflicting upon her. But was it
not to save her that he was acting as he did,
And to save her? Was it not necessary that he

(21:34):
should know the truth? However painful? He resumed? Why that forgery?
It was my ha ha ha husband, she stammered, It
was my husband who did it. With this fortune, he
could do everything, and bribed a junior clerk to have

(21:57):
the Christian name of the second child all for him
on on the register. The Christian name and the sex
said dupay yes, she said. Then he continued, I am
not mistaken the original Christian name, the real one was Dolores. Yes,

(22:21):
but why did your husband, she whispered in a shamefaced manner,
while the tears streamed down her cheeks. Don't you understand? No,
but think, she said, shuddering. I was the sister of Masilda,
the mad woman, the sister of Altenheim, the Ruffian. My husband,

(22:44):
or rather my affianced husband, would not have me remain
that he loved me. I loved him too, and I consented.
He suppressed Dolores de Malreich on the register. He bought
me other papers, another personality, another birth certificate, and I
was married in Holland under another maiden name, as Dolores Amanti.

(23:04):
Lu Payne reflected for a moment and said thoughtfully, yes, yes,
I understand. But then Luis de Marauch does not exist,
and the murderer of your husband, the murderer of your
brother and sister, does not bear that name. His name,
She sprang to a sitting posture, and eagerly his name. Yes,

(23:26):
that is his name, Yes, it is his name. Nevertheless,
Luis de Maraich, l M. Remember, oh, do not try
to find out. It is the terrible secret. Besides, what
does it matter? They have the criminal he is the criminal,
I tell you he is. Did he defend himself when
I accused him face to face? Could he defend himself
under that name or any other? It is he, It

(23:48):
is he. He committed the murderers. He struck the blows,
the dagger, the steel dagger. Oh, I could only tell
all I know, Luis de Malraich, if I could only.
She fell back on the sofa in a fit of
hysterical sobbing, and her hand clutched her pace, and he
heard her stammering amid inarticulate words, protect me, protect me,

(24:13):
you alone, perhaps, Oh, do not forsake me. I am
so unhappy. Oh, what torture, What torture? It is hell.
With his free hand, he stroked her hair and forehead
with infinite gentleness, and under his caress she gradually relaxed

(24:33):
her tense nerves and became calmer and quieter. Then he
looked at her again, and long long asked himself whether
there could be behind that fair, white brow, what secret
was ravaging that mysterious soul? She also was afraid? But
of whom? Against whom was she imploring him to protect her?
Once again, he was obsessed by the image of the

(24:55):
man in black, by that Louis de Malraech, the sinister
and incomprehensible enemy, whose attacks he had to ward off
without knowing whence they came, or even if they were
taking place. He was in prison watch day and night.
Tach did Lupey not know by his own experience that
there are beings for whom prison does not exist, and
to throw off their chains at the given moment. And

(25:16):
Luis de Maraerik was one of those. Yes, there was
some one in the Sante prison, in the condemned man's cell,
but it might be an accomplice or some victim of Malraich.
While Malray himself prowled around Bougain Castle, slipped in under
cover of the darkness like an invisible specter, made his
way into the chalais in the park, and at night
raised his dagger against Lupang, asleep and helpless. And it

(25:39):
was Luis de Malray who terrorized Dolores, who drove her
mad with his threats, who held her by some dreadful
secret and forced her into silence and submission. And Lupey
imagined the enemy's plan to throw Dolores, scared and trembling
into Pierre lu Duc's arms, to make away with him
du Pang, and to reign in his place over there,
with the Grand Duke's power and Dolores's millions. It was

(26:03):
a likely supposition, a certain supposition, which fitted in with
the facts and provided a solution of all the problems
of all thought Lupeye, yes, But then why did he
not kill me last night in the chalais? He had
but to wish, and he did not wish one movement,
and I was dead. He did not make that movement? Why?

(26:27):
Dolores opened her eyes, saw him and smiled with a
pale smile. Leave me, she said. He rose with some hesitation.
She did go and see if the enemy was behind
the curtain or hidden behind the dresses in a cupboard.
She repeated, gently, Go I am so sleepy. He went away,

(26:49):
but outside he stopped behind some trees that formed a
dark cluster in front of the castle. He saw a
light in Dolores's boudoir. Then the light passed into the bedroom.
In a few minutes all was darkness. He waited if
the enemy was there, perhaps he would come out of
the castle. An hour elapsed, two hours, not a sound.

(27:12):
There's nothing to be done, thought Loupee. Either he is
burrowing in some corner of the castle, or else he
has gone out by a door which I cannot see
from here, unless the whole thing is the most ridiculous
supposition on my part. He lit a cigarette and walked
back to the chalais. As he approached it, he saw
at some distance from him a shadow that appeared to
be moving away. He did not stir for fear of

(27:34):
giving the alarm. The shadow crossed a path. By the
light of the moon, he seemed to recognize the black
figure of Malrai. He rushed forward, The shadow fled and
vanished from sight. Come he said, it shall be for tomorrow,
And this time Lupayn went to Uptaz to Chaffar's room,
woke him and said, take the motor and go to Paris.

(27:57):
You'll be there by six o'clock in the morning. See
Jacques du Dvee and tell him two things. First to
give me news of the man under sentence of death.
And secondly, as soon as the post office is open,
to send me a telegram, which I will write down
for you. Now. He worded the telegram on a scrap
of paper and added, the moment you have done that.
Come back, but this way along the wall of the park.

(28:17):
Go now, no one must suspect your absence. Le Paye
went to his own room, pressed the spring of his lantern,
and began to make a minute inspection. It's as I thought,
he said, Presently, some one came here to night while
I was watching beneath the window. And if he came,
I know what he came for. I was certainly right.
Things are getting warm. The first time I was spared,

(28:40):
This time I may be sure of my little stab.
For Prudence's sake, he took a blanket, chose a lonely
spot in the park, and spent the night under the stars.
Octave was back by ten o'clock in the morning. It's
all right, Governor. The telegram has been sent. Good and
is Luis de Malrai still in prison? Yes. Dood Ville
passed his cell at the Sante last night as the

(29:02):
warder was coming out. They talked together. Malraik is just
the same. It appears silent as the grave. He is waiting,
waiting for what the fatal hour. Of course, they are
saying at headquarters that the execution will take place on
the day after tomorrow. That's all right, that's all right,
said Lupeye. And one thing is quite plain. He has
not escaped. He ceased to understand or even to look

(29:25):
for the explanation of the riddle. So clearly did he
feel that the whole truth would soon be revealed to him.
He had only to prepare his plan for the enemy
to fall into the trap, or for me to fall
into it myself, he thought, laughing. He felt very gay,
very free from care, and no fight had ever looked
more promising to him. A footman came from the castle

(29:46):
with the telegram which he had told Dudville to send him,
and which the postman had just brought. He opened it
and put it in his pocket. A little before twelve
o'clock he met Pierre Luduc in one of the avenues
and said, off hand, I am looking for you. Things
are serious. You must answer me frankly. Since you have
been at the castle, have you ever seen a man
there besides the two German servants whom I sent in? No,

(30:10):
think carefully, I am not referring to a casual visitor.
I mean a man who hides himself, a man whose
presence you might have discovered, or less than that whose
presence you might have suspected from some clue or even
by some intuition, No have you. Yes, some one is
hiding there, some one is prowling about. Where and who
is it? And what is his object? I don't know,

(30:32):
but I shall know. I already have a suspicion. Do
you on your side, keep your eyes open and watch,
and above all, not a word to missus Kesselbach. It
is no use alarming her. He went away. Pierre LeDuc,
taken aback and upset, went back to the castle. On
his way he saw a piece of blue paper on
the edge of the lawn. He picked it up. It

(30:54):
was a telegram, not crumpled like a piece of paper
that had been thrown away, but carefully folded, obviously lost.
It was addressed to Bonis, the name by which Nupeg
was known at Brugen, and it contained these words, we
know the whole truth, revelations impossible by a letter. Will
take train to night, Meet me eight o'clock to morrow morning,

(31:15):
Brugen station. Excellent, said Dupeg, who was watching pierrele Duke's
movements from a neighboring coppice. Excellent. In two minutes from now,
the young idiot will have shown Dolores the telegram and
told her all my fears. He will talk about it
all day, and the other one will hear. The other
one will know because he knows everything, because he lives
in Dolores's own shadow, and because Dolores is like a

(31:38):
fascinated prey in his hands. And to night he walked away,
humming to himself, to night, to night, we shall dance
such a waltz, my boys, the waltz of blood, to
the tune of the little nickel plate a dagger. We
shall have some fun. At last he reached the chalais,

(32:00):
called to Octave, went to his room, flung himself on
his bed, and said to the chauffe sit down in
that chair, Octave, and keep awake. Your master is going
to take forty winks. Watch over room, you faithful servant.
He had a good sleep, like Napoleon. On the morning
of Austerlitz, he said, when he woke up it was
dinner time. He made a hearty meal, and then, while

(32:21):
he smoked a cigarette, inspected his weapons and renewed the
charges of his two revolvers. Keep your powder, drying your sword,
sharpen as my chum. The Kaiser says Octave. Octave appeared.
Go and have your dinner at the castle with the servants.
Tell them you are going to Paris to night in
the motor with you guv'nor no alone, and as soon
as dinner is over, make a start ostensibly. But I

(32:44):
am not to go to Paris. No remain outside the
park half a mile down the road until I come.
You will have a long wait. He smoked another cigarette,
went for a stroll, passed in front of the castle,
saw a light in Dolores's rooms, and then returned to
the shop Alais. There he took up a book. It
was the Lives of illustrious Men. There is one missing,

(33:06):
the most illustrious of all. But the future will put
that right, and I shall have my Plutarch some day
or other. He read the Life of Caesar and jotted
down a few reflections in the margin. At half past eleven,
he went to his bedroom. Through the open window, he
gazed into the immense cool night, all astir with indistinct sounds.

(33:26):
Memories rose to his lips, memories of fond phrases which
he had read or uttered, and he repeatedly whispered Dolores's
name with the fervor of the stripling who hardly dares
confide to the silence the name of his beloved. He
left the window half open, pushed aside a table that
blocked the way, and put his revolvers under his pillow. Then, peacefully,
without evincing the least excitement, he got into bed, fully

(33:50):
dressed as he was, and blew out the candle, and
his fear began. It was immediate. No sooner did he
feel the darkness around him than his fear began. Damn
it all, he cried. He jumped out of bed, took
his weapons and threw them into the passage. My hands,
my hands alone. Nothing comes up to the grip of

(34:10):
my hands. He went to bed again. Darkness and silence
once more, and once more his fear. The village clock
struck twelve to pay thought of the foul monster who
outside at a hundred yards, at fifty yards from where
he lay, was trying the sharp point of his dagger.
Let him come, Let him come, whispered the pang, shuddering.

(34:35):
Then the ghosts will vanish. One o'clock in the village,
and minutes passed endless, minutes, minutes of fever and anguish,
beads of perspiration stood at the roots of his hair
and trickled down his forehead, and he felt as though
his whole frame were bathed in the sweat of blood.
Two o'clock and now, somewhere quite close, a hardly perceptible

(34:57):
sound stirred, a sound of lea moving, but different from
the sound of leaves moving in the night breeze. As
Lupayne had foreseen, he was at once pervaded by an
immense calm. All his adventurous being quivered with delight. The
struggle was at hand. At last, another sound grated under
the window, more plainly this time, but still so faint

(35:20):
that it needed Lupayne's trained ear to distinguish it. Minutes
terrifying minutes, the darkness was impenetrable. No light of star
or moon relieved it. And suddenly, without hearing anything, he
knew that the man was in the room, And the
man walked toward the bed. He walked as a ghost walks,
without displacing the air of the room, without shaking the

(35:42):
objects which he touched. But with all his instinct, with
all his nervous force, Lupey saw the movements of the
enemy and guessed the very sequence of his ideas. He
himself did not budge, but remained propped against the wall,
almost on his knees, ready to spring. He felt the
figure was touching, feeling the bedclothes to find the spot

(36:03):
at which it must strike. Lupayne heard its breath, even
thought that he heard the beating of its heart, And
he noticed with pride that his own heart beat no
louder than before, whereas the heart of the other, Oh, yes,
he could hear it now, that disordered mad heart, knocking
like a clapper of a bell against the cavity of
the chest. The hand of the other rose a second

(36:27):
two seconds was he hesitating? Was he once more going
to spare his adversary? And Lupayne, in the great silence, said,
but strike, why don't you strike? A yell of rage?
The arm fell as though moved by a spring. Then
came a moan. Lupayne had caught the arm in mid

(36:49):
air at the level of the wrist, and leaping out
of bed, tremendous, irresistible, he clutched the man by the
throat and threw him. That was all. There was no struggle,
There was no possibility even of a struggle. The man
lay on the floor nailed pinned by two steel rivets
which were Lupayn's hands. And there was not a man
in the world strong enough to release himself from that grip.

(37:12):
And not a word Lupey uttered, none of those phrases
in which his mocking humor usually delighted. Ye had no
inclination to speak. The moment was too solemn. He felt
no vain glee, no victorious exultation. In reality, he had
but one longing to know who was there, Luis de Malreich,
the man sentenced to death, or another, which was it.

(37:36):
At the risk of strangling the man, he squeezed the
throat a little more, and a little more, and a
little more still, and he felt that all the enemy's strength,
all the strength that remained to him, was leaving him.
The muscles of the arm relaxed and became lifeless. The
hand opened and dropped the dagger. Then free to move
as he pleased. With his adversary's life hanging in the

(37:59):
terrible clutch of his fingers, he took his pocket lantern
with one hand, laid his finger on the spring without pressing,
and brought it close to the man's face. He had
only to press the spring to wish to know, and
he would know. For a second, he enjoyed his power.
A flood of emotion upheaved him. The vision of his
triumph dazzled him once again, superbly, heroically, he was the master.

(38:24):
He switched on the light. The face of the monster
came into view. The pain gave a shriek of terror.
Dolores Kesselbah, end of chapter fifteen,