CHAPTER III. IS IT SHE?

Te Aroha News, Volume III, Issue 139, 30 January 1886, Page 4

CHAPTER 111. IS IT SHE?

VVhiltc the carriage rolled toward the ••Boulevard dcs In valid cc," Sartilly had ample time to reflect upon the singular events which, from the Opera ball, nad brought him to the aide of the chief of the police. | The Vi«count had a * * doable nature." Naturally reasonable and cold, as almost all Northern persons are, yet, when carried away by passion, he sometimes yielded to first, impulse* ; for although his life had been a stormy one, hia heart had never lost , its sensibility, fie loved Jennie de Mensignac with a love perhaps moro sincere and pare, from having tasted and been palled by all the pleasures that the Parisian world could off jr to a young and ricb man of leisure, j and for t he la?t two years this new feeling had gradually taken complete possession of the gay young man, who, going to the De Menfignac mansion to recount his follies to Rope»", yielded insensibly to Jeanne's influence. The child, whom he scarcely noticed formerly, had grown up into a j charming" young girl ; and the Viscount j had not even tried to defend himself from tho undefinable charm ehe exercised over him, his d rearm of happiness being now summed up in a marriage with Jeanne, which everything seemed to favour until this fatal night. As soon as he thought he saw a ray of light in the midst of this gloomy obscurity, he had flown to save, or, if too late, to revenge the death of Jeanne's brother, without considering if he were taking the surest road to success. The unpleasant formalities which precede an arrest, the sad realities of a police-officer, shocked and chilled him ; and the disagreeable character of an informer, which an honest man never accepts without repugnance, caused Sartilly to perceive, too late, that he had placed himself in a false position. He knew very little of the man be was accusing, but felt a great antipathy to him j and now that he was obliged to take upon himself so serious a responsibility, the information on which he founded his accusation seemed much leas conclnsive. He could not forget that JRojrar de Men«ignac had always carefully c mcea'ed hi* money transactions from him, and tli9 enormous loan which M. De No reff had granted him might perhaps be quite simply explained. How could he know, either, that Roger's disappearance wa« not caused by his desire to hide some family misfortune, by which Jeanne'? j name and honour might perhaps be compro- ] BJ'<*- d ? Thus, while the carriage drove slowly m'oag the quay, the Viscount, although apparently calm, suffered a thousand mental tortures. His companion seemed perfectly at his ease, accomplishing his terrible functions with the indifference which habit give?, and a stranger would never have dreamed that this placid person was going to arrest a man accused of a capital crime. While the officer was looking apparently in the street in this indifferent manner, he was at the same time observing Sartilly, And had certainly sufficient discernment to divine hia agitation. Perhaps he thought he had found out the motive of it, for, after a rather long silence, he commenced the conversation, by asking a question which annoyed the Viscount extremely. ** Sir," he said, in the most polite manner, ** do you know M. de Noreff very well ?" The question touched Sartilly so closely that he could not avoid showing by his answer all the embarrassment he felt. " I know him," he said, hesitatingly, " as all Paris knows him— seeing him in the Boia and at the opera - 1 am not acquainted with him." " And does he know you ?" persisted the officer. •• Perhaps ; but, however, I do not think he does," answered the Viscount, coldly. He felt galled by these repeated interrogations, and regretted already having voluntarily exposed himself to them. His clouded countenance did not escape his shrewd questioner, who doubtless thought it proper to explain himself immediately, for he continued by saying, quietly : j "My only desire, sir, is to gain information that I may be able to act promptly and surely. If you had been acquainted with M. de Neroff, my plan would not have be^n the game ; but I beg you to believe that I j Lave full confidence in your statement, and that I shall not hesitate to do my duty." Sartilly bowed coldly. •• Pardon me if I persist etill in speaking/ said the officer, in the same quiet manner, "but I depend upon you to explain that I did not decide without a motive to attend to your canse. There are notes in these papers which make the accusation that you have brought against De Noreff very probable, and in cases of this kind my principle is never to lose a moment. It will be time enough later to compare the information I have with that you have furnished me, but for the moment, the most important thing is to act ; and besides." added he, with a contented smile, " I shall know more after an hour's conversation with this Swede th%n in listening to all the wit- j nesses in the affair." " I think as you do," eaid the Viscount, struck by these simple and sensible remarks, " and I have only to beg you to point out what I am to do." 1 * Nothing can be more simple j we will go there together, and I will use your name to be admitted to M . de Noreff, and if , by chance, another person should receive us in his place, you will make a rign to me ; but if, on the contrary, it is really De Noreff, I will attend to tho rest " And as Sartilly showed some surprise at this fear expressed of the substitution of another person, bis companion laughingly added : *' The precaution teems to you puerile, but I know by experience it is of some importance, and my calling makes me defiant." The carriage a f . this momen' passing the corner of the Botel dcs Invalided, the officer availed himself oftheopp rtnnityof looking out of the window, to assure himself that the other carriage was following him at a suitable distance. " In that carriage, sir, I have a valuable agent,'' he continued, in the easy tone of a nub who sees that the execution of a difficulfenterprise Is going on according to his wishes. ** I told him to follow me at the distance of fifty paces, and be has had tbe wit to mount on the Cv/uchamn'e seat to watch our gait. lam euro he will keep the right distance, and will arrive exactly two minutes after us." •* Do you intend that he shall go into the booee with us?" said the Viscount, absently. Th§ functionary could not conceal a

emile. "It would be both useless and dangerous," said he, emphasising the words, " for we must surprise De Noreff, and if we were to present ourselves escorted by a briyada, our aflfair would probably fall through." " I thought we were going to arrest him?" «• The first thing to be done is to question him skilfully without letting him suspect the objeot of nur visit. I want a certainty, and I cannot have it unless I talk -withhim. But do not be uneasy ; every precaution is taken in case he should have the intention of escaping. You heard the instructions I gave at the police-office to Jottrat — a word or two, not more. Well, I am pure the house will be surrounded and watched bettor by my four men than by a battalion of infantry, and if I have need of them I shall not be obliged to call them twice. Ah ! Jottrat ia of the old school ; he began his career under Fouch<s, and be has kept up his old habits." The Viscount listened rather disdainfully, and thia eulogium of an unknown agent of police interested him very little. He was thinking of the scone ho was to be an actor in, and was looking vaguoly at the long deserted street of the Boulevard, over which the carriage was passing. The'high wall of the garden of the be Noreff mansion appeared on the left, and stretched on to the angle of the rue de Varennes. The decisive moment was fast approaching, and Sar billy was becoming more and anxious ,* wnile his companion examined the approach to the house, with a sure and quick glance of his eye. A few carts were going along the middle of the street, and in the alley on the left only one pedestrian could be seen hurrying on. He was, shabbily dressed, horribly muddy, and absolutely insignificant to any other than a policeman, but he remarked him, however, following him with his eyes so persistently that at last it attracted the Viscount's attention. Mechanically, Sartilly's eyes followed the same direction, and he felt a strange impression, for it seemed to him that he ha! seen the figure and dress of this man before, but he could not recall under what circumstances, and was trying j to remember when it had been, when the ! man turned iato the rue de Varennes, and disapperred by the angle of the wall. As rapidly as he had walked, his profile had been seen for a moment, and transient as the glance had been, it was sufficient to recall the recollections of the Viscount. J "It is he !" cried Sartilly, half raising himself, as if he wished to jump out on the Boulevard. " Who is it?" asked the officer, quietly. •'The man who had the basket, the wretched accomplice of this De Noreff; and at this moment he is going, without doubt, to his house. He must be arrested first, and I am going " "On the contrary, we must let him alone, as he will furnish us another proof. If he goos into De Noreff 8 houee, it will be much ea?ior to arrest him there than to run after him in the street, at the risk of spoiling our j whole affair." Sartilly felt the justice of this reply, yet j could scarcely restrain his impatience, j feeling a presentiment that the murderer would again escape from them, and cursing the miserable hired horse that, with difficulty, crept along the muddy pavement. Whon they at last turned the corner of this aristocratic street, the Viscount could not suppress a cry of rage "on seeing the pavement and wide street solitary as far a 9 the eye could reach, and no one standing before the high, large gate of the Da Noreff mansion ; it being physically impossible that the gate could have been opened and shut in so short a time, and, nevertheless, the mysterious stranger was no longer visible j When the cab stopped before the house, , Sartilly gave a despairing glance at his companion, who, still calm and smiling, pointed out to him silently, with his finger, a low and narrow door in the high grey wall twenty paces off. "Now we can go in," said the officer; "tho birds are in their nests." At the same moment that he rang the bell, the rolling of a carriage stopping suddenly on the Boulevard dcs Invalided, could be heard. "Those are our men," whispered the officer; " bofore we can get in, they are already waiting." 11 And if the house has two outlets ?" a^ked Sartilly. ** There are two, and it is on thope I count in case of resistance. Jottrat will co mo by the garden ;he has watched there under other circumstance", and knows the entrance." While this dialogue was t-ildng place in a low voice, one of the folding-doors of the gate was opened, and the imposing face of coloss&l porter was eeen at the entrance of the courtyard. "Will you hand thi3 to your ma-ter?'' the chief of the police eaid in a quick tone of voicp, handing him at the game time a card of a peculiar shape. The porter, who was eyeing the visitors from head to foot with rather a disdainful air, suddenly changed his manner, and ha°tened to conduct them to the first flight of step 3 , where two footmen received them, and led them into an elegant waiting room. The court they had j"u«t crossed was filled with large tree?, and opened into a spacious earden, giving them a glimp'e of wide straight -walks, and thick hedges cut in the oldfaphkr.ed style Tne house had been built in Louis tho XV.'g reign, and must have been recently modernised, as one could eas-ily see tbechangesthatmodern taste had produced in tbo ancient building ; and it the house had gained in comfort, it had certainly lost its imposing appearance It wasstin, however, a princely abode, and all the surroundings announced that the occupants lived in splendour. Sartilly, surprised to the last degree at the cool and easy manner which his companion had taken to introduce himself, had forgotten for a moment his desire for vengeance, so much was his curiosity oxcited. He wondered what means the bold policeofficer intended to employ, and could not arrive at any reasonable conclusion, and while waiting would have questioned him,, had not bis companion's eyes fo plainly recommended him to keep silence. His reflections were interrupted by the enrance of an usher, properly dreaaed in black with eilk stockings, and a gold chain round his neck. This dignified personage asked the visitors to follow him, and led them through a lang gallery, decorated with flowers, to the glass door of a conservatory, or rather a wonderfol winter garden. A man was walking slowly amidst this real forest of rare plants, and his half oriental costume stood out in its dazzling colours against the dark green of these exotic shrubs. On hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, he turned and showed his face to his visitors, and a ray of sunshine striking at that moment the glass windows, displayed his whole person frona head to foot. He was a man to whom it would be difficult to assign any particular age, as his hair and whiskers were white, his complexion dark and swarthy, with deep wrinkles on his forehead j but bis eyes had retained the brilliancy and vivacity of youth, while his powerful form announced unusual strength and vigour. j It required but a second for Edmond to recognise him as the hat itual cavalier of the

beautiful woman with golden hair, the mysterious stranger, M. de Noreff. If Sartilly had only seen his teeth, white as ivory* glistening between his red lips, he would have known him, and he did not hesi tate in answering by an affirmative motion the interrogatory glance of the officer. M. de Noreft, stopping short in his walk, examined his two visitors in rather an unfriendly manner. The Viscount felt uncomfortable under this clear and penetrating scrutiny, and he longed for hia companion to break the embarraesing silence ; but the latter coldly observed M. de Noreff, and seemed to be waiting to be questioned. "Is it you who have just arrived from Moscow ?" said the enigmatic personage at last, in a voice which made Kdmond start, for it seemed to him that he had heard this sarcastic ton© and harsh accent before. '• Yes, I have just arrived from Moscow by the way of Vienna," the bold policeofficer answered. *' And who is the man with yeu ?" asked M. de Noreff, pointing to the Viscount, who could scarcely contain his indignation at this insolence. " A brother, who is going to start tomorrow to be the bearer of my report to Russia, We can speak before him." "Very well, what have you to tell me ?" "I have come in the name of the committee," said the officer, with calculated slowness, •' to ask some explanation of the intercourse you keep up with a Francbman, named the Marquis de Mensignae." M. de Noreff, starting at this name, launched so unexpectedly, recovered himself immediately, but not quick enough to escape the searching eye of the officer, for suddenly De Noreffs face aeeumed a singular expression — surprise, anger, disdain, and uneasiness might ba read in it at the eametime. "My intercourse with the Marquis de Mensignac regards only myself, and my affairs with him have been transacted with my personal friends." " The committee wish to know what they are." "I do not recognise their right to ask," I answered M. de Noreff, angrily. And then almost immediately resuming his calmness, he began again, coldly : " I do not recognise the right of any one to examine the acts of my private life ; but as I have no reason to hide them, I am willing to answer you. I have loaned, several times, important sums of money to the Marquis de Mensignac, and to-day he is to pay me back half a million." " And you have not yet received it," said the policeman, without showing the least &ign of astonishment, on learning this serious circumstance, which Sartilly had neglected telling him. " No ; I am even afraid that I shall never receive it, and that I will lose my money entirely, " said M. de Noreff, dryly. " These explanations will suffice, I hope ; and at all j events, I havo nothing more to tell you." His look and gesture indicated so clearly ; of dismissing his visitors that the Viscount thought, for an instant, that the game was lost ; but glancing towards his companion, he felt immediately assured, as while M. de Noreff was speaking to them in his \ haughty manner the other officer, so to speak, seemed transfigured —his features j had lost their icy expression and had put on a look of aggressive irony, his eyea shone with Bly humour, and in a jeering voice, and with affected politeness, he said : 4C I beg your pardon, sir ; but, to mv great regret, I do not think we understand each other at all." M. de Noreff looked at him with astonishment. " The explanations that you have just had the goodness to five are far from sufficient," replied the officer, in the same calm manner, " for I have learned very little so far, with regard to the Marquis de Mengignac, and I have come here to talk with you of him." '• Do you mean to say that you have come here only to speak of the Marquis de Mensignac?" asked De Noreff, pale with rage, " when a moment ago you told me you had just arrived from Moscow ? This is either treachery or an infamous joke," cried he, approaching the officer in a furious manner. "lm goin? to tell you ; but the first thing I wish you know is that you will not receive yourmoney to-dav,astheMarquisdeMensig-nac was murderel last night, and I even be'ievol know his murderer." A fla?h of fury shone from M. de Noroffs eyes, and he moved forward as if to throw himself upon the man who had thus spoken to him, but, by a prodigious effort of will, he governed his anger. " I begin to divine," he said, with contemptuous coldness, *• that you are simply a ppy — capable of employing the signs of recognition of a political association, and abuse them in order to exercise his vile trade." ! " I am a chief of the secret police, and I do not. think, sir, tha f the functions I fill are held by you in great horror. It is true, my association is not a political one. The sentence, spoken in a scoffing tone, exasperated De Noreff still more, and he said : " Let us cut short this interview, and rid me of your odious presence. What do you want with me ?" " I want you to go with me to the policeoffice, where you can explain yourself at your ease/ "In other words you are going to arrest me?" The chief of the secret brigade bowed affirmatively. "And you thought," replied De Noreff, clinching his hands, " that I would let you arrest me without crushing you both — you thought you would leave this hou*e alive " " I think so still," said the officer coldly. "For the last hour my men have surrounded your houee, and I have only to call them with this whistle ; but I hope you will not oblige me to use violence." There was a long silence, during which M. de Noreff succeeded partly in recovering his composure. "I might consent to go with you," he said, more calmly, " if it were only to make you pay more dearly for your insolent mis take ; but I want first to know on what pretext you arrest me." " The Marquis deMenßignAc dipappeared la«<fc night, and your meetings with htm have been too frequent not to make you suspected." " He has disappeared, and it is I, there fore, who have murdered him. Who is the author of this very probable accusation?" "I am," said Edmond, looking M. de Noreff full in the face. "lam the Viscount de Sartilly, and the friend of the man you have cowardly killed. " "Indeed," said De Noreff, shrugging his shoulders. " This might be amusing, if it were not so odious; if he was murdered last night, it was not by me, for I have not left my house for three days." "We saw your accomplice coming in here through the private green gate, in the rue de Varennes," said the chief of the police, quietly, and he thought he detected on De Noreffs face a contraction of feature, | almost as immediately concealed. "I suppose that is not all," said De Noreff, sneeringly j " and I have still other crimes on my conscience." " Vee, this is not all." "And of what am I still accused V " Of having murdered a woman."

•'Really, and who?" " She who has accompanied you everywhere since your return — she whose beauty all Paris has remarked, who bears your name, and whom you married, perhaps, to aid you in your intrigues." A loud peal of laughter interrupted the officer, M, de JNoreff, giving way to a sudden burst of gay ety, and after ringing the bell, threw himself on a divan, still laughing. •* Tell Madame de Noreff that I wish her to come down here," he Raid to the footman wh o answered the bell. It would be difficult to express the effect that this assuredly unexpected phase produced. Sartilly's features expressed deep astonishment, and holding down his head to avoid tho triumphant glance of M. de Noreff, he blushed and turned pale alternately. The painful thought that he might have been deceived suddenly sprang up, for thefirst time, in his mind, and the weighty consequences of an error of this kind quickly appeared to him. In what a frightful embarraesment he would be placed, if the dead woman found that fatal night should not be Madame de Noreff. What could be said to his stranger, undeservedly accused, to palliate the offence of a man who, on a simple suspicion, had brought in as an j auxiliary an agent of police t And what would the agent also think of one who, by his guilty thoughtlessness, had pushed him to take so serious a step ? Overwhelmed by the weight of his imprudence, Sartilly did not dare to raise his eyes, and the chilling silence that followed the servant's departure added still more to his trouble. He was thinking of some means cf retiring from his humiliating position, and seeking some excuse that might soothe his wounded self love, when he felt his elbow lightly touched ; and shaking off his stupor, and looking at the po' ice-officer, found him unchanged and motionlees, with the same ironical smile on his lips, observing M. de Noreff, while the expression of his eye said so plainly, u I do not believe in this ruae," that Sarfcilly recovered In a measure his composure. De Noreff did not, however, show the least sign of nneasiness, but whistled while pulling the leaves off of a magnificent red camellia, within reach of his hand, and from timo to time throwing a glance of contempt at his two visitors. Steps were heard in the gallery, and a second glance from the chief of the police to hia companion might be translated in this way : " I depend upon you for the recagnition of the person who is about entering." Sarfcilly understood him and began to breathe freely again, The possibility of substituting another person had just presented itself to his mind, and he was preparing to dispute the imposture. "ThU man has divined rightly," he thought. "De Noreff knows that I have never seen his victim elsewhere than in the Champs Elyse'es or the Boia do Boulogne, and he hopes to pass off upon me another person, an accomplice perhaps. It is too audacious, but the miserable creature cannot deceive me," he mentally added, on peeing the door open, and a man enter, a major-domo dressed in black, with a white tie, a chin carefully shaved, and grrey whiskers cut in # the English fashion. The persona<re,l whose grave demeanour sufficiently announced his importance, bowed respectfully, and said some words in a foreign laneuage to M. de Noreff. "Speak French, Karl," aaid his master, with perfect calmnees; "these gentlemen want to hear what you have iust told me." "It is useless," said the officer. "I understand Gorman." " A very fortunate thing, indeed," said M. de Noreff, smiling disdainfully, "as it wHI spare me the trouble of translating " There was a little merit in doing it, as 1 had imagined in advance what had just been told you that Madame de Noreff ia not at home," said the police-officer, in an ironical manner, which he took no pains to hide. '* Madame has gone fo the Bois in her barouche, but it will not be long before she returns, as she has an appointment with the baroness Amstein at four o'clock." There was a shorfc silence, during which the chief of the police remained cold and impenetrable, while M. de Noreff s easy attitude expressed complete satisfaction. " Very well," he said ; "you can go." I The major-domo backed out of the room, and Sartilly, who was observing him attentively, followed him with his eyes to the I door. On seeing this man, he had felt a Angular sensation ; for as the uncertain fives that haunt our dreams take occasionally forms in which wo eeek to connect the faded images of these nocturnal visions with the real beings we meet with in life, so a work of this kind was going on in the Viscount's mind. The vulgar face and insignificant figure of the strange servant had awakened in him a forgotten impression, but no precise recollection stood forth from this vague intuition, to which he would have perhaps attached more importance if it had not been for tho mental shocks he had just passed through. But now ho had too little faith in his past actions to allow himself to be led away by the fancifulness of his memory, and he attributed it to an illusion of his disturbed brain. The voice of his shrewd companion recalled him to himself. " It is very vexatious, sir." said the officer, " that Madame de Noreff should have gone out alone to-day." " Why, if you pleaee?" eaid M. de Noreff, haughtily. "Because, if by chance she doo9 not return, 1 shall find it difficult to believe in her existence " M. de Noreff phrugrged his shoulders disdainfully and drew out his watch. " You w 11 errant me half an hour to convince you that I am right," he eaid, coldly. "Como, we have hid enough of this, fir," replied, after a pause, the chief of police. " We are both of us playing a childish gamo, but I will explain myeelf. It is nearly ten years that I have been employed in this profession. I think I have acquired some experience in case 3 of this kind, and I am sure at lea-^t of having the invairable habit of maturely reflecting before actiiig. If I have decided then to arrest on the spot a rich man of good position, you may be certain that such serious accusations have been brought against you, as in my eyes amount to proofs. You must, at least, do me the justice to acknowledge that I have gone directly to the point, and If I did use artifice at first, it was because I was afraid of not being admitted, and wished to avoid entering your house by force. But it is time to be done with this ; it is your interest to accompany me unresistingly and without exposure. Shifts and delays can change nothing in the nnal result, and more than that, they are unworthy of your character, and," added the officer, lowering his voice, " of the functions that you fill r These last words' had, without doubt, struck home/ for M. de Noreff turning slightly pale, appeared to> hesitate for a moment, but hi* embarrassment did not last, and almost immediately be answered : j "My functions have nothing in common with tho foolish accusation you have brought against me." " Absolutely nothing," said the officer.

'" You know that I might lay claim to' the protection of a foreign embassy," continued M. de Noreff, who had recovered his composure, " butl'do not wautto use my right, as I wish to have the satisfaction of confounding an infamous calumny," added he, looking at Bartilly. " It is the best thing you can do," said the officer coolly. "I do not ask for advice. I merely want to know where you wish me to go." "To the police-office. ; we have a carriage at the door." "Very well j this gentleman will go with us, doubtless," said M. de Noreff, pointing to the Viscount* "he must wish to fulfil completely the honourable mission he has taken charge of," Sartilly, pale with rage, could with diffi culty restrain himself, but a gesture from the police officer calmed him. " Will you have the goodneasto accompany me, sir ?' said the functionary to the man whomhe had already considered hie prisoner. ML de Noreff rang the bell. " You will permit me to change my dress," he said, in a jeering tone of voice. " Certainly, providing you do it here. I , do not wish your servants to know what is going on." " I only have need of them that they may inform Madame de Noreff on her arrival." At these words the officer could not conceal a smile of incredulity, while he said, "Your house will he visited this evening by an examining magistrate, and if Madame de Noreff is here, she csn then be informed." This shaft did not appear to move the accused, as for the last moment, his attention seemed absorbed by a new thought, his face became animated, his eyes shone, and his forehead cleared — it seemed as if he had forgotten what was passing around him, and his attitude was that of a man listening. A distant rumbling 1 sound was heard ap proaching from the Boulevard, soon it became very distinct, aud sounded like the rapid rolling of a carriage coming full speed. The officer listened, and Sartilly, who was moving toward the gallery, stopped, seized suddenly by a vague presentiment. # Then the noise ceased, and a deep base voice called out, "Door, if you please " Some one had arrived in great haste, and these unknown visitors must have had a skilful coachman, and fleet, well-trained horses, if one could judge by the precision with which he stopped the carriage directly before the gate. A wicked smile could be seen on the tontracted lips of M. de Noreff, who, without saying a word, went directly to the glass windows that overlooked the court, and opened them. Sartilly and the police officer followed him mechanically, and looked out, both feeling that something strange was about happening. At the call from the well-known voice, the colossal porter had left his lodge to open the door, and the heavy gate could be heard turning on its hinges. As soon as the gate was opened, an elegant barouche, drawn by two superb bay horses, drove in and stopped before the steps. At the back of the carriage, on the right, almost buried under a largo pelisse of fur, a woman sat, or rather reclined, on the blue Bilk cushions of the carriage, waiting with perfect composure until the footman had put down the steps. She raised her head, looking op to the conservatory, and had scarcely done so, when Sartilly uttered a cry of terror and surprise, for he had recognised the pale face and ejolden hair of the foreigner of the Bois de Boulogne, and behind him be heard a mocking voice paying these words : "I told you that Madame de Noreff would return at four o'clock." Madame de Noreff went up slowly the front door steps, while Sartilly watched all her motions with feverish attention, atid he heard again De NorefFs voice, always sarcastic and .ironical, saying : "Do you insist, gentlemen, upon Madame de NorefFs coming here to tell you hereelf that I have not murdered her ?" "It is absolutely necessary for me to Bpeak to Madame de Noreff," said the officer, in a tone already less imperative ; " but we can go to the drawing room, and spare her the inconvenience of coming here." "It is unnecessary, she is coming:," M. de Noreff had scarcely finished this short and dry answer, when a liarhb step was heard in the gallery. The Viscount, in a state of distraction, looked at his com panion, and read in his face doubt and anxiety. The functionary was thinking his character might be compromised by this foolish affair, and was only waiting for the identity of the woman to bo proved before taking his last step. lf Is it reallyshe ?" thought the perturbed Sartilly. The unknown appeared at the entrance of the conservatory, and putting aside with her beautifully gloved hand the leaves of the exotic -plants before her, advanced with a graceful .and timid movement, showing only her bust and face. The Viscount hesitated for a moment, but a ray of sunshine coming through the, windows lighted suddenly the apparition that as yet thoy had only had a glirap«e of, and the pale and regular features, the large dark blue eyes, and hair, with its reddish golden coloured shades, were distinctly seen in the clear light. Ifc was really tbe woman of the Champs Elysees. Tha livid and bloody head he had seen in the morniug was brought to life before his eyes, and ho wondered what prodigy or what miracle had raised the dead to life. For a few ceconds all were mute, while the triumphant M. de Noreff looked alternately at the dismayed visitors and his astonished wife The officer was observing the embarrassment of Sartilly, who was seeking in vain to recover his composure, when the unknown spoke, and her voice had a deep tone and singular inflections, as the words of a Northern language fell from her lips with a penetrating harmony like a sweet and hidden song. M. de Noreff said a few words in the same language, but spoke rapidly, in short sentences, like a man giving urgent orders. Tbe agent of the police frowned and muttered between his teeth, " It is not German they are speaking now." The Viscount, lost in a profound reverie, listened vaguely. " Madame de Noreff is in the habit of speaking Russian language with me," said the master of the house, calmly, "but she understands French, and if you think it necessary to ask some explanation from her—" "It would be, I' think, wholly uperfluous," replied the chiei, adding mentally, " now particually when you have justwarned her. I ought to have brought Jottrat with me, as he understands all languagee." " Then," continued De Noreff, still, cold, and scoffing, •• you are willing to believe I have not murdered my wife." Before answering, the officer gave a last interrogatory glance at the unfortunate Sartilly,- whose colour changed every moment ; large drops of sweat stood upon his forehead, and his downcast countenance said so plainly, "I have been deceived," that the officer thought it useless asking him for a humiliating avowal of bis error. •

The- skilful agent, since the return of Madame de Noreff, had rapidly formed his opinion of the situation in which he waß placed, and understood it perfectly. Acoustomed, for many years, to complicated intrigues and intricate cases, he knew how to decide qu ickly , The plan he adopted generally was of a j nature not to compromise his personal interests ; on this day he had not departed j from his usual prudence, and decided, in a moment, upon the best plan to pursue. In his opinion, M. de Noreff was connected in come way with the mysterious disappearance of M. de Mensignac ; but it was certain, also, that his wife was living, and that Sarfcilly had been duped by a re- j semblance. After a false step of this kind, the only thing that could be done for the moment was to make an honourable retreat, j as the evidence did not justify an immediate arrest, and to persist in this, in spite of the proof of their error, would be taking a responsibility that the judicious functionary wished to avoid ; therefore he resolved to abandon the case now, only to commence it again under better prospects. " Sir," he said, in a courteous and persuasive tone, that he knew how to assume when needed, "the calumniated administration to which I belong sometimes does wrong, but they always know how to repair an error. In the full belief of indications which were presented to us, I have taken a step that I regret deeply, but I am happy to say that my mission is over, and we are going to leave." Sartilly, who, during his companion's remarks, had been observing M. de Noreff, thought he could see his eyes flash with joy at the moment these words were spoken ; nevertheless, if this enigmatic personage had felt an emotion of the kind, be did not let it appear in his cold and haughty answer. Indeed, it eeemed that their r6les were changed, and that from being the accused, M. de Noreff had become the accuser, his language and attitude contrasted so strongly with the disconcerted mien of his two visitors, and now the last blow came to crush the Viscount already overwhelmed tfith shame. Madame de Noreff came out slowly from the block of foliage by which she was half hidden, advancing a few steps into the conservatory, and as she came forward, Sartilly went back involuntarily, without being able to take his eyes off her. As often among the vivid impressions of the moment a distant souvenir is mingled, so, on seeing the stranger walking forward, Edmond thought involuntarily of Jeanne's recital and of the woman dressed in red, who in her childhood had passed before her crib. Why did his imagination call back the distant night of the old Marquis de Mensignac's death rather than the later vision of the young girl ? He could not say why, but it seemed to him that he certainly saw the phantom that had frightened Jeanne in her childhood. Perhaps there existed some secret coincidence between thi3 impression and the appearance of Madame de Noreff, whom he had found, on a nearer approach, to be much older than he believed her to be at first. Her regular features, her skin of snowy whiteness, and her bright eyes, produced, at the distance be had always seen her, a complete illusion ; but now that he was near her, in the full light of day, the almost imperceptible wrinkles of the skin, the brown circle round her 9ye3, +he bluish tint of her temples were visible, and the expression of her face was entirely changed, and showed the superb maturity of a woman who must have been admirably beautiful, but who was no longer in the first bloom of youth. But, strange to say, it seemed to Edmond that the unknown foreigner of the Champs Elye^e3 was not Madame de Noreff, but the other, the victim whose bloody head he had seen on the enow of the Bois de Boulogne. He chased away this idea, that had taken possession of him like a funereal vision, and looking steadily at Madame de Noreff, their eyes met. The likenes3 was striking, and the exact resemblance in the colour of the hair completed the illusion. The age alone was not the game. He had never seen Madame de Noreff but at a distance and in a carriage, where she must have lookec younger, but it wag certainly she who stood before him. The murdered woman resembled her, that was all. 11 Who are the a e gentlemen ? ' she asked in French, but with a decidedly Russian accent. M. de Noreff immediately answered her, and he took care not to lose this opportunity of giving his enemies a home thrust. "This gentleman is one of the chiefs of the police force," he eaid, with a wicked smile ; " and this one," turning toward Edmond, "is a tmo of fashion, who is taking a part in the police force for his amusement." The Viscount raised his head at this sarcasm, and was going to make a bitter reply, by saying in a slow and harmonious voice, •' What is the gentleman's name ?" 11 My name is of very little consequence ; I am the friend of the Marquis de Mensignac, aed I have the right to seek his murderers." The Viscount had answered rapidly to hide his embarrassment, and wa3 preparing to go out, when he waa struck by the peculii expression of Madame de Noreff's .face. Her Jarge eyes half closed, her mouth contracted, and her complexion, already so pale, had become almost livid. " On my first journey to France, I made the acquaintance of the Marquis Adhetnac de Mensignac," she said, after a short silence; "but he is dead." " His son is also dead, and it is his death I wish to revenge," replied Sartilly, looking at M. de Noreff defiantly It was timo to put an end to this scene, and the chief of the detective police took bia leave with studied politeness, but the preoccupation of the V/scount was so great that he followed his companion mechanically, and found himself in the Rue de Varennes, without knowing how he had reached there. The carriage was still waiting, the driver, as usual, asleep on his seat, and the other cairiage empty at the corner of the deserted boulevard. "I want to say a word to Jottrat before I start," said the officer ; " come with me, I know where to find him." He went along the wall of a small street, or rather passage, that separated M. de Noreffs garden from the stables of a neighbouring houee. After arriving at this blind alley, lie whistled softly, and Jottrat appeared so quickly that one might have almost thought he sprang from the wall, as he came forward with that rapid, silent stop that is learned inthedaily exercise of the police functions. " You have seen nothing j" said the officer, in a low voice. " No ; nothing." " Then we have failed, and the Russian has won, and we will never know what has been done in that house yonder." " Perhaps," said Jottrat, after a short silence. A half an hour after, Edmund de Sartilly and the officer entered the police-office. They had been silent during) the drive, both feeling discontented with the result of their mission, as it always happens in similar cases, each one throwing upon his companion the blame of the miscarriage, The officer was angry at the Viscount for having been so badly informed, forgetting' at the same time, the antecedents of M de Noreff* that had

determined him to act so quickly. Sartilly thought that the chief of the , detective police had failed in perseverance at the beginning, and in prudence at the end, forgetting also that his own affirmations had strongly pushed the officer to the false step they had just made. The functionary consoled himself by thinking that he could eaeily justify himself to the prefect, as the papers of the equivocal stranger were filled with unfavourable information ; but he resolved that his zeal should never carry him so far again. For his part, the Viscount had determined that he would henceforth have nothing more to do with the police, as this affair had been so badly conducted, and he felt that he had only himself to depend upon to discover the guilty murderers. There are natures that difficulties stimulate, and obstacles excite, and Sartilly would willingly have renounced this pursuit, for which he had no taste, if the agent had seemed disposed to do his duty ; but now that he feared to be no longer aided in his task, he had been seized by a violent desire to clear up this dark mystery him* self, and yet still more serious motives urged him to persevere. He had a deep conviction that his friend had been the victim of an infernal plot, in which M. de Noreff had been the chief mover, and that there existed a terrible secret between the Russian and the De Mensignacs. Ihis secret must be first discovered, and a friend could alone penetrate it without running the risk of endangering the honour and namethat Jeannn bore. Might there not be a fear indeed of divulging some fatal history, or discovering one of those hidden wounds that afflict sometimes the noblest houses, and could the work of searching into the past of an extinct race be left to the mercenary care of the police ? No, he was the only friend of Mademoiselle de Mensignac who had the right of defending and avenging her, even if, in doing so, it were necessary to scrutinise the lives of the two lost Marquises. " I will allow no one to aid me, and, notwithstanding, I shall succeed," Sartilly said to himself, while descending from the carriage at the door of the police-office. The first object that struck his eyes was Toby, holding his horse Ralph and leading him up and down through the square. The Viscount had completely forgotten the poor animal after his race, but felt very well satisfied upon seeing him again, and with* out taking time to ask his groom by what miraculous effort of intelligence he had guessed his master's visit to the policeoffice, he mounted the crooked staircase that led to the office of the chief of the detective police. "Will you have the goodness, sir, to sacrifice another hour to me ?" the formidablefunctionary said to him; "your presence is indispensable for the very unpleasant business that remains for us to do to-day, but after that is over, I hope there will be no need of troubling you." The rancorous agent had become as cold now aa he was ardent at first, and while remaining ceremoniously polite, showed plainly by hia manner that for the future Sartilly should have nothing more to do with this affair. The latter tock care not to protest against this exclusion, which accorded so admirably with his own views, and only asked, while striding over the floor, worn by the frequent passage of malefactors of every kind, what service the police expected of him that day. The subalterns, who arrived in the second carriage almost at the same time as they, were not with their chief, with the exception only of the agent who had stood guard at the garden wall. The latter kept at a respectful distance, but each «urn of the narrow staircase brought the Viscount directly opposite to this striking-looking man, whom he had already remarked on going out of De NorefFs house. Besides, he was the only person who had not despaired of success, for Sartilly remembered his answer, "Perhaps," when the police officer declared that nothing would ever be discovered This recollection made him look at him more attentively, and he saw in him a type that merited observation. Tall, broad* shouldered, and with the erect bearing of a soldier, his delicate and pleasant features contrasted singularly with his profession. In his youth he must have been a handsome as well as a noble-looking man, but he now appeared to be fifty years old, yet age had not bent his form, nor changed tne expression of his face— it had only given him an impenetrable mask. His eyes retained their bright, quick look, but were almost always cast down, and there was nothing hypo* [ critical in his physiognomy, as on raising ! his eyes one was struck with their frank expression ; yet, strange to cay, this agent of the lower grades inspired Sartilly with a certain sympathy, while he only felt refl pulsion for the chief of the detective police. Jottrat might be able to aid him in arresting the a^asßins, and he determined to find him again, if he had need of him, and had almost decided upon speaking to him on the spot, but on arriving at the door of the office, he thought the movement inopportune. (To be Continued.)