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

Served To Distract Attention From Him,  And At A Moment Somewhat

Later,  When Matrena Petrovna Turned To Speak To The Young Man,  She

Was Frightened At Not Seeing Him.  Where Had He Gone?  She Went Out

Into The Veranda And Looked.  She Did Not Dare To Call.  She Walked

Into The Grand-Salon And Saw The Reporter Just As He Came Out Of

The Sitting-Room.

"Where Were You?" She Inquired.

"The Sitting-Room Is Certainly Charming,  And Decorated Exquisitely,"

Complimented Rouletabille.  "It Seems Almost A Boudoir."

"It Does Serve As A Boudoir For My Step-Daughter,  Whose Bedroom

Opens Directly From It; You See The Door There.  It Is Simply For

The Present That The Luncheon Table Is Set There,  Because For Some

Time The Police Have Pre-Empted The Veranda."

"Is Your Dog A Watch-Dog,  Madame?" Asked Rouletabille,  Caressing

The Beast,  Which Had Followed Him.

"Khor Is Faithful And Had Guarded Us Well Hitherto."

"He Sleeps Now,  Then?"

"Yes.  Koupriane Has Him Shut In The Lodge To Keep Him From Barking

Nights.  Koupriane Fears That If He Is Out He Will Devour One Of

The Police Who Watch In The Garden At Night.  I Wanted Him To Sleep

In The House,  Or By His Master's Door,  Or Even At The Foot Of The

Bed,  But Koupriane Said,  'No,  No; No Dog.  Don't Rely On The Dog.

Nothing Is More Dangerous Than To Rely On The Dog. 'Since Then He

Has Kept Khor Locked Up At Night.  But I Do Not Understand

Koupriane's Idea."

"Monsieur Koupriane Is Right," Said The Reporter.  "Dogs Are Useful

Only Against Strangers."

"Oh," Gasped The Poor Woman,  Dropping Her Eyes.  "Koupriane

Certainly Knows His Business; He Thinks Of Everything."

"Come," She Added Rapidiy,  As Though To Hide Her Disquiet,  "Do Not

Go Out Like That Without Letting Me Know.  They Want You In The

Dining-Room."

"I Must Have You Tell Me Right Now About This Attempt."

"In The Dining-Room,  In The Dining-Room.  In Spite Of Myself," She

Said In A Low Voice,  "It Is Stronger Than I Am.  I Am Not Able To

Leave The General By Himself While He Is On The Ground-Floor."

She Drew Rouletabille Into The Dining-Room,  Where The Gentlemen Were

Now Telling Odd Stories Of Street Robberies Amid Loud Laughter.

Natacha Was Still Talking With Michael Korsakoff; Boris,  Whose Eyes

Never Quitted Them,  Was As Pale As The Wax On His Guzla,  Which He

Rattled Violently From Time To Time.  Matrena Made Rouletabille Sit

In A Corner Of The Sofa,  Near Her,  And,  Counting On Her Fingers

Like A Careful Housewife Who Does Not Wish To Overlook Anything In

Her Domestic Calculations,  She Said:

"There Have Been Three Attempts; The First Two In Moscow.  The First

Happened Very Simply.  The General Knew He Had Been Condemned To

Death.  They Had Delivered To Him At The Palace In The Afternoon The

Revoluntionary Poster Which Proclaimed His Intended Fate To The

Whole City And Country.  So Feodor,  Who Was Just About To Ride Into

The City,  Dismissed His Escort.  He Ordered Horses Put To A Sleigh.

I Trembled And Asked What He Was Going To Do.  He Said He Was Going

To Drive Quietly Through All Parts Of The City,  In Order To Show The

Muscovites That A Governor Appointed According To Law By The Little

Father And Who Had In His Conscience Only The Sense That He Had

Done His Full Duty Was Not To Be Intimidated.  It Was Nearly Four

O'clock,  Toward The End Of A Winter Day That Had Been Clear And

Bright,  But Very Cold.  I Wrapped Myself In My Furs And Took My

Seat Beside Him,  And He Said,  'This Is Fine,  Matrena; This Will

Have A Great Effect On These Imbeciles.'  So We Started.  At

First We Drove Along The Naberjnaia.  The Sleigh Glided Like

The Wind.  The General Hit The Driver A Heavy Blow In The Back,

Crying,  'Slower,  Fool; They Will Think We Are Afraid,' And So The

Horses Were Almost Walking When,  Passing Behind The Church Of

Protection And Intercession,  We Reached The Place Rouge.  Until

Then The Few Passers-By Had Looked At Us,  And As They Recognized

Him,  Hurried Along To Keep Him In View.  At The Place Rouge There

Was Only A Little Knot Of Women Kneeling Before The Virgin.  As

Soon As These Women Saw Us And Recognized The Equipage Of The

Governor,  They Dispersed Like A Flock Of Crows,  With Frightened

Cries.  Feodor Laughed So Hard That As We Passed Under The Vault

Of The Virgin His Laugh Seemed To Shake The Stones.  I Felt

Reassured,  Monsieur.  Our Promenade Continued Without Any Remarkable

Incident.  The City Was Almost Deserted.  Everything Lay Prostrated

Under The Awful Blow Of That Battle In The Street.  Feodor Said,

'Ah,  They Give Me A Wide Berth; They Do Not Know How Much I Love

Them," And All Through That Promenade He Said Many More Charming

And Delicate Things To Me.

"As We Were Talking Pleasantly Under Our Furs We Came To La Place

Koudrinsky,  La Rue Koudrinsky,  To Be Exact.  It Was Just Four

O'clock,  And A Light Mist Had Commenced To Mix With The Sifting

Snow,  And The Houses To Right And Left Were Visible Only As Masses

Of Shadow.  We Glided Over The Snow Like A Boat Along The River In

Foggy Calm.  Then,  Suddenly,  We Heard Piercing Cries And Saw Shadows

Of Soldiers Rushing Around,  With Movements That Looked Larger Than

Human Through The Mist; Their Short Whips Looked Enormous As They

Knocked Some Other Shadows That We Saw Down Like Logs.  The General

Stopped The Sleigh And Got Out To See What Was Going On.  I Got Out

With Him.  They Were Soldiers Of The Famous Semenowsky Regiment,

Who Had Two Prisoners,  A Young Man And A Child.  The Child Was Being

Beaten On The Nape Of The Neck.  It Writhed On The Ground And Cried

In Torment.  It Couldn't Have Been More Than Nine Years Old.  The

Other,  The Young Man,  Held Himself Up And Marched Along Without A

Single Cry As The Thongs Fell Brutally Upon Him.  I Was Appalled.

I Did Not Give My Husband Time To Open His Mouth Before I Called

To The Subaltern Who Commanded The Detachment,  'You Should Be

Ashamed To Strike A Child And A Christian Like That,  Which Cannot

Defend Itself.'  The General Told Him The Same Thing.  Then The

Subaltern Told Us That The Little Child Had Just Killed A Lieutenant

In The Street By Firing A Revolver,  Which He Showed Us,  And It Was

The Biggest One I Ever Have Seen,  And Must Have Been As Heavy For

That Infant To Lift As A Small Cannon.  It Was Unbelievable.

"'And The Other,' Demanded The General; 'What Has He Done?'

"'He Is A Dangerous Student,' Replied The Subaltern,  'Who Has

Delivered Himself Up As A Prisoner Because He Promised The Landlord

Of The House Where He Lives That He Would Do It To Keep The House

From Being Battered Down With Cannon.'

"'But That Is Right Of Him.  Why Do You Beat Him?'

"'Because He Has Told Us He Is A Dangerous Student.'

"'That Is No Reason,' Feodor Told Him.  'He Will Be Shot If He

Deserves It,  And The Child Also,  But I Forbid You To Beat Him.  You

Have Not Been Furnished With These Whips In Order To Beat Isolated

Prisoners,  But To Charge The Crowd When It Does Not Obey The

Governor's Orders.  In Such A Case You Are Ordered "Charge," And

You Know What To Do.  You Understand?'  Feodor Said Roughly.  'I

Am General Trebassof,  Your Governor.'

"Feodor Was Thoroughly Human In Saying This.  Ah,  Well,  He Was Badly

Ecompensed For It,  Very Badly,  I Tell You.  The Student Was Truly

Dangerous,  Because He Had No Sooner Heard My Husband Say,  'I Am

General Trebassof,  Your Governor,' Than He Cried,  'Ah,  Is It You,

Trebassoff' And Drew A Revolver From No One Knows Where And Fired

Straight At The General,  Almost Against His Breast.  But The General

Was Not Hit,  Happily,  Nor I Either,  Who Was By Him And Had Thrown

Myself Onto The Student To Disarm Him And Then Was Tossed About At

The Feet Of The Soldiers In The Battle They Waged Around The Student

While The Revolver Was Going Off.  Three Soldiers Were Killed.  You

Can Understand That The Others Were Furious.  They Raised Me With

Many Excuses And,  All Together,  Set To Kicking The Student In The

Loins And Striking At Him As He Lay On The Ground.  The Subaltern

Struck His Face A Blow That Might Have Blinded Him.  Feodor Hit The

Officer In The Head With His Fist And Called,  'Didn't You Hear What

I Said?'  The Officer Fell Under The Blow And Feodor Himself Carried

Him To The Sleigh And Laid Him With The Dead Men.  Then He Took

Charge Of The Soldiers And Led Them To The Barracks.  I Followed,

As A Sort Of After-Guard.  We Returned To The Palace An Hour Later.

It Was Quite Dark By Then,  And Almost At The Entrance To The Palace

We Were Shot At By A Group Of Revolutionaries Who Passed Swiftly In

Two Sleighs And Disappeared In The Darkness So Fast That They Could

Not Be Overtaken.  I Had A Ball In My Toque.  The General Had Not

Been Touched This Time Either,  But Our Furs Were Ruined By The Blood

Of The Dead Soldiers Which They Had Forgotten To Clean Out Of The

Sleigh.  That Was The First Attempt,  Which Meant Little Enough,

After All,  Because It Was Fighting In The Open.  It Was Some Days

Later That They Commenced To Try Assassination."

At This Moment Ermolai Brought