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

Greatest Precaution Across The Lawn.  Screened By The Wooden Steps

Leading To The Veranda And By The Vine-Clad Balustrade,  They Got

Near Enough To Hear Them.  Koupriane Gave Eager Ear To The Words

Of These Two Young Men,  Who Might Have Been So Rich In The Many

Years Of Life That Naturally Belonged To Them,  And Who Were About

To Die So Horrible A Death In Destroying All About Them.  They

Spoke Of What Time It Was,  Of The Softness Of The Night And The

Beauty Of The Sky; They Spoke Of The Shadows Under The Birch-Trees,

Of The Gulf Shining In The Late Evening's Fading Golden Light,  Of

The River's Freshness And The Sweetness Of Springtime In The North.

That Is What They Talked About.  Koupriane Murmured,  "The Assassins!"

Now It Was Necessary To Decide On Action,  And That Necessity Was

Horrible.  A False Movement,  An Awkwardness,  And The "Doctors"

Would Be Warned,  And Everything Lost.  They Must Have The Bombs

Under Their Coats; There Were Certainly At Least Two "Living Bombs."

Their Chests,  As They Breathed,  Must Heave To And Fro And Their

Hearts Beat Against An Impending Explosion.

Above On The Bedroom Floor,  They Heard The Rapid Arranging Of The

Room,  Steps On The Floor And A Confusion Of Voices; Shadows Passed

Across The Window-Space.  Koupriane Rapidly Interrogated Ermolai

And Learned That All The General's Friends Were There.  The Two

Doctors Had Arrived Only A Couple Of Minutes Before The Prefect Of

Police And The Reporter.  The Little Doctor Of Vassili-Ostrow Had

Already Gone,  Saying There Was Nothing More For Him To Do When Two

Such Celebrated Specialists Had Arrived.  However,  In Spite Of Their

Celebrity,  No One Had Ever Heard The Names They Gave.  Koupriane

Believed The Little Doctor Was An Accomplice.  The Most Necessary

Thing Was To Warn Those In The Room Above.  There Was Immediate

Danger That Someone Would Come Downstairs To Find The Doctors And

Take Them To The General,  Or That The General Would Come Down

Himself To Meet Them.  Evidently That Was What They Were Waiting

For.  They Wished To Die In His Arms,  To Make Sure That This Time

He Did Not Escape Them!  Koupriane Directed Ermolai To Go Into The

Veranda And Speak In A Commonplace Way To Them At The Threshold Of

The Drawing-Room Door,  Saying That He Would Go Upstairs And See If

He Might Now Escort Them To Madame Trebassof's Room.  Once In The

Room Above,  He Could Warn The Others Not To Do Anything But Wait

For Koupriane; Then Ermolai Was To Come Down And Say To The Men,

"In Just A Moment,  If You Please."

Ermolai Crept Back As Far As The Lodge,  And Then Came Quite

Normally Up The Path,  Letting The Gravel Crunch Under His

Countrified Footsteps.  He Was An Intelligent Man,  And Grasped With

Extraordinary Coolness The Importance Of The Plan Of Campaign.

Easily And Naturally He Mounted The Veranda Steps,  Paused At The

Threshold Of The Drawing-Room,  Made The Remark He Had Been Told To

Make,  And Went Upstairs.  Koupriane And Rouletabille Now Watched

The Bedroom Windows.  The Flitting Shadows There Suddenly Became

Motionless.  All Moving About Ceased; No More Steps Were Heard,

Nothing.  And That Sudden Silence Made The Two "Doctors" Raise

Their Faces Toward The Ceiling.  Then They Exchanged An Aroused

Glance.  This Change In The Manner Of Things Above Was Dangerous.

Koupriane Muttered,  "The Idiots!" It Was Such A Blow For Those

Upstairs To Learn They Walked Over A Mine Ready To Explode That

It Evidently Had Paralyzed Their Limbs.  Happily Ermolai Came

Down Almost Immediately And Said To The "Doctors" In His Very Best

Domestic Manner:

"Just A Second,  Messieurs,  If You Please."

He Did It Still With Utter Naturalness.  And He Returned To The

Ledge Before He Rejoined Koupriane And Rouletabille By Way Of The

Lawn.  Rouletabille,  Entirely Cool,  Quite Master Of Himself,  As Calm

Now As Koupriane Was Nervous,  Said To The Prefect Of Police:

"We Must Act Now,  And Quickly.  They Are Commencing To Be Suspicious.

Have You A Plan?"

"Here Is All I Can See," Said Koupriane.  "Have The General Come

Down By The Narrow Servants' Stairway,  And Slip Out Of The House

From The Window Of Natacha's Sitting-Room,  With The Aid Of A Twisted

Sheet.  Matrena Petrovna Will Come To Speak To Them During This

Time; That Will Keep Them Patient Until The General Is Out Of Danger.

As Soon As Matrena Has Withdrawn Into The Garden,  I Will Call My Men,

Who Will Shoot Them From A Distance."

"And The House Itself?  And The General's Friends?"

"Let Them Try To Get Away,  Too,  By The Servants' Stairway And Jump

From The Window After The General.  We Must Try Something.  Say That

I Have Them At The Muzzle Of My Revolver."

"Your Plan Won't Work," Said Rouletabille,  "Unless The Door Of

Natacha's Sitting-Room That Opens On The Drawing-Room Is Closed."

"It Is.  I Can See From Here."

"And Unless The Door Of The Little Passage-Way Before That Staircase

That Opens Into The Drawing-Room Is Closed Also,  And You Cannot See

It From Here."

"That Door Is Open," Said Ermolai.

Koupriane Swore.  But He Recovered Himself Promptly.

"Madame Trebassof Will Close The Door When She Speaks To Them."

"It's Impracticable," Said The Reporter.  "That Will Arouse Their

Suspicions More Than Ever.  Leave It To Me; I Have A Plan."

"What?"

"I Have Time To Execute It,  But Not To Tell You About It.  They

Have Already Waited Too Long.  I Shall Have To Go Upstairs,  Though.

Ermolai Will Need To Go With Me,  As With A Friend Of The Family."

"I'll Go Too."

"That Would Give The Whole Show Away,  If They Saw You,  The Prefect

Of Police."

"Why,  No.  If They See Me - And They Know I Ought To Be There - As

Soon As I Show Myself To Them They Will Conclude I Don't Know

Anything About It."

"You Are Wrong."

"It Is My Duty.  I Should Be Near The General To Defend Him Until

The Last."

Rouletabille Shrugged His Shoulders Before This Dangerous Heroism,

But He Did Not Stop To Argue.  He Knew That His Plan Must Succeed

At Once,  Or In Five Minutes At The Latest There Would Be Only Ruins,

The Dead And The Dying In The Datcha Des Iles.

Still He Remained Astonishingly Calm.  In Principle He Had Admitted

That He Was Going To Die.  The Only Hope Of Being Saved Which

Remained To Them Rested Entirely Upon Their Keeping Perfectly Cool

And Upon The Patience Of The Living Bombs.  Would They Still Have

Three Minutes' Patience?

Ermolai Went Ahead Of Koupriane And Rouletabille.  At The Moment

They Reached The Foot Of The Veranda Steps The Servant Said Loudly,

Repeating His Lesson:

"Oh,  The General Is Waiting For You,  Excellency.  He Told Me To

Have You Come To Him At Once.  He Is Entirely Well And Madame

Trebassof Also."

When They Were In The Veranda,  He Added:

"She Is To See Also,  At Once,  These Gentlemen,  Who Will Be Able To

Tell Her There Is No More Danger."

And All Three Passed While Koupriane And Rodetabille Vaguely Saluted

The Two Conspirators In The Drawing-Room.  It Was A Decisive Moment.

Recognizing Koupriane,  The Two Nihilists Might Well Believe

Themselves Discovered,  As The Reporter Had Said,  And Precipitate

The Catastrophe.  However,  Ermolai,  Koupriane And Rouletabille

Climbed The Stairs To The Bedroom Like Automatons,  Not Daring To

Look Behind Them,  And Expecting The End Each Instant.  But Neither

Stirred.  Ermolai Went Down Again,  By Rouletabille's Order,

Normally,  Naturally,  Tranquilly.  They Went Into Matrena Petrovna's

Chamber.  Everybody Was There.  It Was A Gathering Of Ghosts.

Here Was What Had Happened Above.  That The "Doctors" Still Remained

Below,  That They Had Not Been Received Instantly,  In Brief,  That The

Catastrophe Had Been Delayed Up To Now Was Due To Matrena Petrovna,

Whose Watchful Love,  Like A Watch-Dog,  Was Always Ready To Scent

Danger.  These Two "Doctors" Whose Names She Did Not Know,  Who

Arrived So Late,  And The Precipitate Departure Of The Little Doctor

Of Vassili-Ostrow Aroused Her Watchfulness.  Before Allowing Them

To Come Upstairs To The General She Resolved To Have A Look At Them

Herself Downstairs.  She Arose From Her Bed For That; And Now Her

Presentiment Was Justified.  When She Saw Ermolai,  Sober And

Mysterious,  Enter With Koupriane's Message,  She Knew Instinctively,

Before He Spoke,  That There Were Bombs In The House.  When Ermolai

Did Speak It Was A Blow For Everybody.  At First She,  Matrena

Perovna,  Had Been A Frightened,  Foolish Figure In The Big Flowered

Dressing-Gown Belonging To Feodor That She Had Wrapped About Her In

Her Haste.  When Ermolai Left,  The General,  Who Knew She Only

Trembled For Him,  Tried To Reassure Her,  And,  In The Midst Of The

Frightened Silence Of All Of Them,  Said A Few Words Recalling The

Failure Of All The Previous Attempts.  But She Shook Her Head And

Trembled,  Shaking With Fear For Him,  In Agony At The Thought That

She Could Do Nothing There Above Those Living Bombs But Wait For

Them To Burst.  As To The Friends,  Already Their Limbs Were Ruined,

Absolutely Ruined,  In Very Truth.  For A Moment They Were Quite

Incapable Of Moving.  The Jolly Councilor Of Empire,  Ivan Petrovitch,

Had No Longer A Lively Tale To Tell,  And The Abominable Prospect Of

"This Horrible Mix-Up" Right At Hand Rendered Him Much Less Gay

Than In His Best Hours At Cubat's Place.  And Poor Thaddeus

Tchitchnikoff Was Whiter Than The Snow That Covers Old Lithuania's

Fields When The Winter's Chase Is On.  Athanase Georgevitch Himself

Was Not Brilliant,  And His Sanguine Face Had Quite Changed,  As

Though He Had Difficulty In Digesting His Last Masterpiece