The Secret Of The Night(Fiscle Part 3) by Gaston Leroux (readera ebook reader txt) 📕

"I Understand I Am Supposed To Know Him."

"Yes,  You Have Met In Paris.  It Is Entirely Natural That In Passing

Through St. Petersburg You Should Make Him A Visit.  You Know Him

Very Well Indeed,  So Well That He Opens His Home To You.  Ah,  Yes,

My Step-Daughter Also " - She Flushed A Little - " Natacha Believes

That Her Father Knows You."

She Opened The Door Of The Drawing-Room,  Which They Had To Cross In

Order To Reach The Dining-Room.

From His Present Position Rouletabille Could See All The Corners Of

The Drawing-Room,  The Veranda,  The Garden And The Entrance Lodge At

The Gate.  In The Veranda The Man In The Maroon Frock-Coat Trimmed

With False Astrakhan Seemed Still To Be Asleep On The Sofa; In One

Of The Corners Of The Drawing-Room Another Individual,  Silent And

Motionless As A Statue,  Dressed Exactly The Same,  In A Maroon

Frock-Coat With False Astrakhan,  Stood With His Hands Behind His

Back Seemingly Struck With General Paralysis At The Sight Of A

Flaring Sunset Which Illumined As With A Torch The Golden Spires Of

Saints Peter And Paul.  And In The Garden And Before The Lodge

Three Others Dressed In Maroon Roved Like Souls In Pain Over The

Lawn Or Back And Forth At The Entrance.  Rouletabille Motioned To

Madame Matrena,  Stepped Back Into The Sitting-Room And Closed The

Door.

"Police?" He Asked.

Matrena Petrovna Nodded Her Head And Put Her Finger To Her Mouth

In A Naive Way,  As One Would Caution A Child To Silence.

Rouletabille Smiled.

"How Many Are There?"

"Ten,  Relieved Every Six Hours."

"That Makes Forty Unknown Men Around Your House Each Day."

"Not Unknown," She Replied.  "Police."

"Yet,  In Spite Of Them,  You Have Had The Affair Of The Bouquet In

The General's Chamber."

"No,  There Were Only Three Then.  It Is Since The Affair Of The

Bouquet That There Have Been Ten."

"It Hardly Matters.  It Is Since These Ten That You Have Had ..."

"What?" She Demanded Anxiously.

"You Know Well - The Flooring."

"Sh-H-H."

She Glanced At The Door,  Watching The Policeman Statuesque Before

The Setting Sun.

"No One Knows That - Not Even My Husband."

"So M. Koupriane Told Me.  Then It Is You Who Have Arranged For

These Ten Police-Agents?"

"Certainly."

"Well,  We Will Commence Now By Sending All These Police Away."

Matrena Petrovna Grasped His Hand,  Astounded.

"Surely You Don't Think Of Doing Such A Thing As That!"

"Yes.  We Must Know Where The Blow Is Coming From.  You Have Four

Different Groups Of People Around Here - The Police,  The Domestics,

Your Friends,  Your Family.  Get Rid Of The Police First.  They Must

Not Be Permitted To Cross Your Threshold.  They Have Not Been Able

To Protect You.  You Have Nothing To Regret.  And If,  After They

Are Gone,  Something New Turns Up,  We Can Leave M.  Koupriane To

Conduct The Inquiries Without His Being Preoccupied Here At The

House."

"But You Do Not Know The Admirable Police Of Koupriane.  These Brave

Men Have Given Proof Of Their Devotion."

"Madame,  If I Were Face To Face With A Nihilist The First Thing I

Would Ask Myself About Him Would Be,  'Is He One Of The Police?'

The First Thing I Ask In The Presence Of An Agent Of Your Police Is,

'Is He Not A Nihilist?'"

"But They Will Not Wish To Go."

"Do Any Of Them Speak French?"

"Yes,  Their Sergeant,  Who Is Out There In The Salon."

"Pray Call Him."

Madame Trebassof Walked Into The Salon And Signaled.  The Man

Appeared.  Rouletabille Handed Him A Paper,  Which The Other Read.

"You Will Gather Your Men Together And Quit The Villa," Ordered

Rouletabille.  "You Will Return To The Police Headguarters.  Say To

M. Koupriane That I Have Commanded This And That I Require All Police

Service Around The Villa To Be Suspended Until Further Orders."

The Man Bowed,  Appeared Not To Understand,  Looked At Madame

Trebassof And Said To The Young Man:

"At Your Service."

He Went Out.

"Wait Here A Moment," Urged Madame Trebassof,  Who Did Not Know How

To Take This Abrupt Action And Whose Anxiety Was Really Painful

To See.

She Disappeared After The Man Of The False Astrakhan. A Few Moments

Afterwards She Returned.  She Appeared Even More Agitated.

"I Beg Your Pardon," She Murmured,  "But I Cannot Let Them Go Like

This.  They Are Much Chagrined.  They Have Insisted On Knowing Where

They Have Failed In Their Service.  I Have Appeased Them With Money."

"Yes,  And Tell Me The Whole Truth,  Madame.  You Have Directed Them

Not To Go Far Away,  But To Remain Near The Villa So As To Watch It

As Closely As Possible."

She Reddened.

"It Is True.  But They Have Gone,  Nevertheless.  They Had To Obey

You.  What Can That Paper Be You Have Shown Them?"

Rouletabille Drew Out Again The Billet Covered With Seals And Signs

And Cabalistics That He Did Not Understand.  Madame Trebassof

Translated It Aloud: "Order To All Officials In Surveillance Of The

Villa Trebassof To Obey The Bearer Absolutely.  Signed: Koupriane."

"Is It Possible!" Murmured Matrena Petrovna.  "But Koupriane Would

Never Have Given You This Paper If He Had Imagined That You Would

Use It To Dismiss His Agents."

"Evidently.  I Have Not Asked Him His Advice,  Madame,  You May Be

Sure.  But I Will See Him To-Morrow And He Will Understand."

"Meanwhile,  Who Is Going To Watch Over Him?" Cried She.

Rouletabille Took Her Hands Again.  He Saw Her Suffering,  A Prey

To Anguish Almost Prostrating.  He Pitied Her.  He Wished To Give

Her Immediate Confidence.

"We Will," He Said.

She Saw His Young,  Clear Eyes,  So Deep,  So Intelligent,  The

Well-Formed Young Head,  The Willing Face,  All His Young Ardency For

Her,  And It Reassured Her.  Rouletabille Waited For What She Might

Say.  She Said Nothing.  She Took Him In Her Arms And Embraced Him.

In The Dining-Room It Was Thaddeus Tchnichnikoff's Turn To Tell

Hunting Stories.  He Was The Greatest Timber-Merchant In Lithuania.

He Owned Immense Forests And He Loved Feodor Feodorovitch* As A

Brother,  For They Had Played Together All Through Their Childhood,

And Once He Had Saved Him From A Bear That Was Just About To Crush

His Skull As One Might Knock Off A Hat.  General Trebassof's Father

Was Governor Of Courlande At That Time,  By The Grace Of God And The

Little Father.  Thaddeus,  Who Was Just Thirteen Years Old,  Killed

The Bear With A Single Stroke Of His Boar-Spear,  And Just In Time.

Close Ties Were Knit Between The Two Families By This Occurrence,

And Though Thaddeus Was Neither Noble-Born Nor A Soldier,  Feodor

Considered Him His Brother And Felt Toward Him As Such.  Now

Thaddeus Had Become The Greatest Timber-Merchant Of The Western

Provinces,  With His Own Forests And Also With His Massive Body,

His Fat,  Oily Face,  His Bull-Neck And His Ample Paunch.  He Quitted

Everything At Once - All His Affairs,  His Family - As Soon As He

Learned Of The First Attack,  To Come And Remain By The Side Of His

Dear Comrade Feodor.  He Had Done This After Each Attack,  Without

Forgetting One.  He Was A Faithful Friend.  But He Fretted Because

They Might Not Go Bear-Hunting As In Their Youth.  'Where,  He Would

Ask,  Are There Any Bears Remaining In Courlande,  Or Trees For That

Matter,  What You Could Call Trees,  Growing Since The Days Of The

Grand-Dukes Of Lithuania,  Giant Trees That Threw Their Shade Right

Up To The Very Edge Of The Towns? Where Were Such Things Nowadays?

Thaddeus Was Very Amusing,  For It Was He,  Certainly,  Who Had Cut

Them Away Tranquilly Enough And Watched Them Vanish In Locomotive

Smoke.  It Was What Was Called Progress.  Ah,  Hunting Lost Its

National Character Assuredly With Tiny New-Growth Trees Which Had

Not Had Time To Grow.  And,  Besides,  One Nowadays Had Not Time For

Hunting.  All The Big Game Was So Far Away.  Lucky Enough If One

Seized The Time To Bring Down A Brace Of Woodcock Early In The

Morning.  At This Point In Thaddeus's Conversation There Was A

Babble Of Talk Among The Convivial Gentlemen,  For They Had All The

Time In The World At Their Disposal And Could Not See Why He Should

Be So Concerned About Snatching A Little While At Morning Or

Evening,  Or At Midday For That Matter.  Champagne Was Flowing Like

A River When Rouletabille Was Brought In By Matrena Petrovna.  The

General,  Whose Eyes Had Been On The Door For Some Time,  Cried At

Once,  As Though Responding To A Cue:

"Ah,  My Dear Rouletabille!  I Have Been Looking For You.  Our

Friends Wrote Me You Were Coming To St. Petersburg."

_____________________________________________________________________

*In This Story According To Russian Habit General Trebassof Is

Called Alternately By That Name Or The Family Name Feodor

Feodorovitch,  And Madame Trebassof By That Name Or Her Family

Name,  Matrena Petrovna.- Translator's Note.

_____________________________________________________________________

Rouletabille Hurried Over To Him And They Shook Hands Like Friends

Who Meet After A Long Separation.  The Reporter Was Presented To

The Company As A Close Young Friend From Paris Whom They Had Enjoyed

So Much During Their Latest Visit To The City Of Light.  Everybody

Inquired For The Latest Word Of Paris As